New Life
by Arashi Uzumaki-Namikaze
Summary: Minato manages the impossible and is offered a reward: a new family and a new life in a new world. He accepts on a few conditions of his own. Mina/Kushi, OC/Kurama, others included. Warning: Strong, smart, caring Minato and many OCs!
1. Chapter 1

**New Life:**

**A/N: I do not own anything but my plot line. I would just like to say this grew off of many plot bunnies and lots of time on spring break. I hope you like it, the good summary's in my profile. Thanks!**

**Chapter One: The Gods' Gift**

(Deep, dark recesses of the stomach of the Shinigami (1))

A loud explosion creating smoke and a rush of what looked like stomach acid (but really, was energy) flooded toward the left side of the crater the two were fighting in. Then there were three consecutive flashes of yellow. The entire battlefield was clean and appeared to be made of stone, aside from the boundaries, which were solid, dull metal bearing slight cracks.

The combatants, only one of them human in appearance, faced each other again in the struggle that characterized their time here. The nonhuman had blood-red crimson fur, stood at well over 200 feet tall, and had nine tails of corrupt-looking crimson, tipped in black, spread out behind him, for the nonhuman was in fact male. His eyes were a sinister red color and he was a fox, but no usual fox.

This fox was a nine-tails, but more than that, he was the Kyuubi. Kyuubi no Youko (2), to be more precise. Blood dripped from his mouth, which was full of jagged, sharp teeth as he bared them at his opponent. **"Fuck you mortal,"** he snarled, a large wound visible in his foreleg even as his chakra rushed to heal it.

The 'mortal' he spoke to only chuckled coldly. Blond spiky hair hung slightly limp, surrounding a tanned face with high cheekbones and an impressive bearing surrounded his body. He was clad in black sweats, black shinobi sandals, a black long-sleeved shirt, a green zip-up vest with scroll pouches across his chest, and a white sleeveless trench coat with a high collar, edged in brilliant red flames. Down his back in those same flames was his title, _Yondaime Hokage_ (3).

His eyes were pure cerulean blue and had slits for pupils; a hitai-ate with a short black strap tied back his unruly spikes into some semblance of order, with two spikes hanging down in front of his ears and some of his bangs falling across the Konoha (4) symbol, a whirlpool with a beak on one end, and a tail on the other, creating a sort of leaf pattern.

"I might say the same for all these years, _damn fox_," he replied, holding up his tri-pronged kunai (5), one of them in each hand. Then he vanished, just as the fox did, his kunai shimmering with the wind chakra (6) surrounding the blades, creating much longer blades in the process.

The Yondaime had endured everything the fox threw at him for years and had lost track of the amount of time they had spent here since the night both had died. The fight had lasted what felt like an eternity. _'I think I'm becoming immune to the sucker,'_ he thought, referring to Kyuubi's corrosive chakra _'having my bloodline limit helps, though.'_

He didn't cry out, only driving a Rasengan (7) into the Kyuubi's skull when the fox caught him by the arm and shook him savagely. The force of the gigantic Rasengan (much stronger than his original Rasengan) forced the fox to take a short flight, ending with a yelled string of curses at the blond in the demon language.

Though he could understand it, Yondaime ignored it, instead noticing the opening the fox had left with his cursing that hadn't been there before. _'I know I am supposed to fight it forever,'_ he thought, _'but what if I don't? That seal; it's risky, but it might work.'_

These thoughts flashed through the warrior's mind in a split _nanosecond_ and immediately he activated the Flying Thunder God's (8) lesser-known power (something not even a certain redhead had been privy to). Time itself stopped for the man as he formed hand-seals, charging down the fox with a determined look on his face.

_'For the sake of my family, and for all you have taken from me,'_ he thought, seeing their faces in his mind's eye, the seal formed as he flipped up, with the fox still in the middle of cursing him out; _'I will not lose this fight!'_ Pain wouldn't come for five minutes; it was why he had trained to be as fast as he could be, and faster, without the use of his chakra. The technique did have its limits, with how powerful he was. His mile time, with his chakra locked when he was going full-out, was a flat-out half minute. As his shirt sleeves blew back a little, perfectly sculpted arms were visible.

He started by deactivating the time breach, as he called them, for a split second. The fox didn't even see him before he landed the seal, with a square double open-palmed shot to the fox's chest. The demon opened its mouth to shriek in pain as Yondaime let out a few words in the ancient language, the language all had spoken in his clan's original dimension, in the very beginning (9).

Continuing, he raised both hands in a gesture of prayer, and reached for the torrent of power he could feel from his bloodline limit, the Warrior's Spirit, or _Senshi no Reishin_ (10), deep within the core of his being. "**Namikaze Fuuinjutsu: Minato Namikaze no Fuuin: Release** (11)," he whispered, and his form lit up with a brilliant golden-yellow power, so blindingly bright he appeared to be nearly a god.

Minato (that was his real name) then raised one hand, and willed into appearance a weapon that would do what he required. A hilt appeared in his right hand as he murmured "**Mikazuki (12)**," then he swung the blade, which appeared as he channeled his chakra into it, at the Kyuubi. It took him quite a few cuts to achieve the results he wanted, and as he released the time breach, he charged up a Rasengan in his free hand so powerful it dwarfed the power of the Bijuu (13) balls. It overflowed out of his hands, the blue light swirling around both his hand and within about a foot around it as he smirked at the fox; _'you're going down, no matter if you're immortal or not.;'_

**"DAMN YOU!"** shrieked Kyuubi and threw him backward, injuring him, but Minato wasn't deterred by this. Transforming into his hybrid form, the werewolf attacked with all of his power as his wounds healed, letting out a roar befitting something nearly three times the Kyuubi's size. The roar created a sonic boom that caused the fox to shriek loudly in pain as it ripped through soul-flesh and fur, causing blood (or the equivalent) to flood the area from the fox's wounds.

_'Alright Namikaze. Bring it in,'_ he told himself. And he did; with a mighty roar the werewolf/celestial drove the Rasengan right through the fox, causing it to shriek in its death throes. His sensitive ears were protected by a cover of chakra as he stood over it, the blood of the fox dripping all over him (it stung a little, but he ignored it) and mixing with his own blood. His fierce golden aura died down and he shifted back into a humanoid form.

Golden eyes stared up at him from a face framed by long red hair that turned silver as Minato watched. The figure was pale, about seven feet tall and his chakra signature felt much weaker than before. The fox coughed a few times, shifting its form into a rather tall kitsune with long silver hair wearing loose fighting clothes. Minato didn't move his sword's tip away from the kitsune's (14) throat, cutting it slightly in warning.

"I'm dying," he coughed out "it doesn't," cough "matter." As he spoke, something black and vaguely fox-shaped emerged from the blood, shrieking as it was drawn by a ghostly hand through the wall of the battlefield. Both combatants watched for a moment as a final shriek was heard, and then silence.

Minato raised an eyebrow at the kitsune "You could be faking it. I thought bijuu couldn't die or be destroyed." the Kyuubi, or the kitsune that remained, only coughed weakly in response before he looked Minato in the eyes. _'No corruption...'_ Minato realized, as he felt the purity of the silver youki (15) surrounding the fox spirit, _'what happened, then?'_

Confused, he searched the kitsune's chakra signature (16) completely. Sifting through emotions and feelings, Minato felt what the being before him did. Namikazes could not be lied to successfully, because their Reishin abilities allowed them to search their opponents, save by one of their own who could fake it. All he could feel was the truth; a devout sense of sorrow, guilt, and the absence of corruption.

"My name is," he coughed a few times and leaned over and up, ignoring the blade tip pressed to his throat, to spit blood out "Kurama. Thank you," he added, looking up at Minato "Without your," he coughed again "assistance, I would not have ever re-awoken."

Minato stared at the kitsune, and allowed Mikazuki's blade to disappear, kneeling to look Kurama in the eyes. Gently, he moved the kitsune's head into a better position, allowing him to somewhat sit up so he could speak better, and said "Explain," while smiling gently at Kurama in the way he did to the village's children. _'Naruto...'_ the thought of his son made his eyes sad and caused a bitter pain to enter his chest for a moment.

Kurama sadly smiled at him "I became the Kyuubi no Youko years ago," he breathed a little easier now, but it was obvious from the steady, slow waning of his power, that the kitsune was losing strength and that his soul was no longer that of an immortal. "I did it to protect those I loved, but eventually my family and I were discovered by humans. They killed my descendants, my mate, and my brother, and I surrendered to my baser instincts. Afterward, a Nogitsune, a kitsune not sworn of Inari, possessed my power and body. He used," he coughed, spitting up more blood, and Minato's eyes widened "his eyes; naming himself Tobi, he also took over the body of a shinobi. I believe one of those" cough "Uchihas. Do not try to save me, or you will be forever trapped here," whispered the kitsune, "You have killed the un-killable. For that, and reuniting me with my family, this is for you," he held out an orb, half-black, half-white, to the Hokage.

Minato took the orb from the dying kitsune, swallowing back the shock he felt. The Nogitsune (17), if that was true, was also gone. _'It was the shadow,'_ realized Minato, _'the shadow was the Nogitsune, and Tobi as well. That means one less maniac hell-bent on taking over the world,'_ he thought with a smile. "But where will you go? What happens to kitsune who die?" he asked, genuinely curious, and at the same time hopeful; _'I hope he goes to heaven. He deserves to.'_

Kurama smiled at him before whispering "You needn't worry, though it is very kind of you." Pausing to take a shuddering breath, he said "Had we met under different circumstances, we might have become friends. You are the most compassionate man I have met in over five hundred years, and for what it's worth, you gave me a much stronger fight than Yusuke, also known as the Devil, would give me on his best day." Kurama coughed again "Take it. It's yours, my blessing to you."

"Where will you go?" Persisted the Hokage; _'I don't deserve the regular afterlife, and if his soul can be preserved...'_ he thought, staring into Kurama's eyes "Please, Kurama, tell me. And you're right; we would have been friends. I think," he paused, "if you are to die, then I want you to die a friend."

"Kitsune go to be judged, like humans," Kurama smiled at him and coughed again "Arigato, Minato; you'd be a great friend," Kurama's tone was remorseful as he said "I would like to die a friend." His smile became longing, and sad "I hope you find your way home, or are rewarded by the god for this. Now I can see my mother again, after spending three thousand years without her. Thank you, my friend. Use my blessing well."He pressed the orb into the Yondaime's chest, and vanished into silver sparks, his last word floating on the wind "I hope you see your son again."

Minato, for his part, slumped forward, not even attempting to muffle the scream of pain that emerged from his throat as Kurama's parting gift fused with his being. More power flooded his spirit/body/incarnation than he knew what to do with so all he did was fight to bring it to heel, like he had with his bloodline limit. Emotional turmoil and an oncoming bout of madness-_'oh hell no! I've lost friends before, and he's probably going to heaven, where he belongs. GET A GRIP MINATO!'_ Immediately bringing his emotions to heel, he barely noticed when the god spit him up, except that he was no longer in the Shinigami's stomach.

The power _fought_, not as hard as Senshi no Reishin had but it fought tooth and nail to escape and destroy him. _'HELL NO,'_ thought Minato, reining it in as his Reishin abilities increased in power by the minute, forcing him to bring them to bear over the newer powers as well as reining them in. _'This is going to suck,'_ he realized, as pain unlike any pain he had ever felt before flooded his body and Minato fought even harder.

An eternity seemed to pass as he brought his full will down upon all of his power. He distinctly heard the Shinigami saying _**"You're worthy to at least enter my presence, Namikaze."**_ The Shinigami had a tone of respect in his voice as he spoke _**"I will wait."**_

All that mattered right now was gaining control; the power fought even harder as he tried to control it, feeling the loss of a new friend as keenly as he had felt Shippou's loss. _'I will not let you destroy me. I am stronger than this! AND YOU WILL HEEL!'_ he commanded sharply, straining every bit of his will and emotions against the enormous power he was attempting to contain.

Eventually, the pain began to fade, and little by little, both his new and old powers heeded his commands, entwining themselves within his core. Minato hardly noticed the gods standing nearby, all of them watching him as he finished by reining in the last of his original powers. Exhaustion filled him and he swayed in place.

_'Sleep sounds nice right about now.'_ With that thought, Minato passed out, hoping Kurama had gone to heaven where he belonged.

-Later, in a bedroom in the Kingdom of Warriors-

The blond warrior that had done the impossible opened blazing cerulean blue eyes to what seemed to be a blinding white light. Minato didn't flinch; he only blinked a few times, finally registering where he was, and noting that he was in a _somewhat_ human form. The source of the white light was in fact the light reflecting off of a sword, on the back of the Shinigami.

_**"Well mortal, you've succeeded in impressing us all,"**_Shinigami said with a grin, showing gleaming black teeth. Considering the conditions and fight he had just been in, Minato wasn't surprised; he was on, and not in, the bed, and could still feel his clothes. His trench coat was stretched out beneath him, and he blinked as he saw it there.

Inari (18), a woman with a kitsune's ears and a tail, spoke next, her kimono showing a bit of cleavage, but not enough to make him embarrassed _**"Truly, I have never known a mortal to be capable of your feats." **_Minato only raised an eyebrow, inwardly praying for the goddess _not_ to be interested in him; _'I already have an impressive list of problems, and all I can do is hope for no more.'_ _**"You can relax,"**_ she said with a smile _**"Shinigami and I are married."**_

Minato breathed a sigh of relief "Good," he said, sitting up quickly and looking at the pair of them "Other gods get bored?" he asked, and Inari chuckled while Shinigami smirked "So, why are you here? I already know I can't return to my own world; how long have I been dead?" _'And in my experience, you always want something; last time wasn't enough?'_ he thought, his mind wandering back to the night that had decided his fate, many years ago.

_'There is __no__ point in dwelling on the past,'_ he told himself, preventing an onslaught of memories as he listened to Inari's answer _**"You have been dead for twenty-one years. Twenty of those were inside of my husband, fighting the Nogitsune Kyuubi, and one was spent in meditation."**_

Minato looked at the ground sadly; _'I missed Naruto's life;'_ he thought, _'Now what? I can't return to life, so what __is__ there left for me?'_ he wondered silently; the fight had kept his mind off things, but he missed everyone he had left behind dearly, as well as those that had died. _'And how did it take __that long__ to beat the Nogitsune?'_ Shinigami appeared to notice his discomfort, and said _**"If you agree to a few conditions, I can restore you to life in another, alternate world. One where you have not died, if you so chose."**_

_**"Or you can return to the afterlife, and become one of our generals there,"**_ Inari said. Minato took a moment to mull the gods' offer over in his mind; _'If I remain dead, then I can't help anyone. I won't see my family or my friends again either way but-what happens if I __don't__ go?' __**"Heaven is in a bit of a state of disorder with the entry of my grandson Kurama,"**_ Minato winced, but Inari continued to smile at him.

Shinigami appeared to have read his mind _**"If you do not go, then we will need to give the version of you in that world the ability to return to life, or give the people living there something else to compensate for his loss; he has just died. If you do choose to go, you will be under a set of conditions, and you will be able to regain all you've lost. Whichever decision you make, your family and friends will still be able to see you in the afterlife."**_Death stated matter-of-factly _**"As it happens, I've got a bit of a soft spot for you, and not just because of you bringing down the Nogitsune."**_

_'My family and friends still get to see me when they die. I just have to-I don't __quite__ understand how it works, __but__ I am going to end up saving some of the people I love if I accept. I might even get to meet my parents,'_ he thought, considering the offer "What are your conditions?"

Inari gave him a foxy grin _**"You're related to me; I knew you'd see things my way, little mago (19)."**_ Minato nearly choked; _'I'M WHAT?'_ _**"Thanks to Kurama's gift to you, you are now my grandson, but you were already an indirect descendant of one of our sons,"**_ she explained, indicating Shinigami; Minato just nodded, keeping his mouth firmly shut _**"I may be the goddess of foxes, but I am also the goddess of nature, and the melding of the two is what produced the Senshi no Reishin."**_

Minato nodded; _'that makes more sense,'_ he thought, but he had half-transformed in his surprise; _'oh, awesome,'_ he thought sarcastically. He shifted back to his human form easily and replied "Please try not to give me a heart attack; while I'm reasonably sure I am now immortal," he paused, and the two gods nodded, "it would still be unpleasant," he finished, grinning at them and revealing his newly sharpened teeth.

_**"Your first condition is that you **__**must**__** help those in need,"**_ Inari said sternly, and Minato raised an eyebrow at her tone; _'I was going to do so anyway,'_ _**"That also means fitting in, so your family does not get singled out for your powers, which you will retain along with your memories with a few restrictions, which will be explained soon."**_ Minato nodded, once again unsurprised.

_**"Your second condition is that you must become my avatar, else I cannot affect your soul so strongly. I can't eat a celestial easily,"**_ Shinigami said _**"and you left me with a nice ulcer for a few days with your time breach," **_grumbled the god, shaking his head at the blond, _**"Only my grandson."**_ Minato only smiled at him, thinking _'yeah, yeah, you complain but you need me.' __**"Don't get cocky,"**_ he said, reaching out to touch Minato's hitai-ate (21) with a fingertip, and causing the Hokage to look him in the eyes; blazing cerulean blue with slits down the center as pupils met purplish flames set in black eyes with black flames at the center _**"You might be powerful enough to take down something un-killable but you must keep your allies alive-as alive as they are, that is,"**_ the god chuckled _**"You'll see what I mean when you arrive."**_

_**"Third, your power restrictions,"**_ Inari said, and Minato frowned a little. _**"Your body will not be made to stand your full power; we are incapable of stopping time completely for you, and such an adjustment has to be made by your energy, not ours."**_ _'How come?'_ Once again Inari seemed to read his mind _**"We can't because it would be unfair; even if you are our avatar, your powers must adjust to the body's strength and speed themselves, and to being contained in a mortal shell. To that extent, your full power will be unlocked after a period of two months, though your regenerative factor will remain as strong as it is now. Essentially, you will be no stronger than a mortal kage, or as strong as **__**you**__** were before you died,"**_ Minato mentally snorted, but nodded _**"and if you overload, you will wind up in a meditative coma for the rest of the time. I highly doubt your family will be capable of understanding that,"**_ warned the goddess.

_**"Fourth,"**_ Minato grinned at this one, as 4 was his favorite number, _**"and last, but definitely not least,"**_ Shinigami continued, _**"Be yourself, enjoy your new life, and don't overdo it. You're a good guy, and you can adjust to having a family again. Just make sure you don't wind up killing anyone pivotal and **__**actually enjoy yourself**__** or I will come down there."**_

_**"As will I, mago,"**_ Inari agreed, and Minato nodded. _'I can live with that,'_ the Hokage thought, _'while my body will be as strong as I have grown to be in the past twenty years, my chakra reserves can't be fully utilized for two months. That will give me time to develop a seal that I can use to hide my power or even lock it away. Maybe an extension of that other seal; I used that to lock away the darker powers I have before...'_

"_**I forgot,"**_ Shinigami gave him a crooked smile _**"Your abilities give you some leeway. On full moons, you will be capable of accessing your full power, so long as you are partially transformed. Your physical senses will be heightened even more around that time, as they are at a permanently heightened level right now. Consequently, you will need to be careful, because your emotional control will waver with your form and power changing at that time."**_

Inari continued _**"As you are now a kitsune as well, on new moons, you will be capable of accessing your Reishin abilities but not your avatar abilities. You will also be able to use a kitsune form as your second form, with a representation of the level of power you can **_**access**_** at the time being your tails. Your human powers will be fully usable when you are finished with a half month, and your Reishin, a fourth of the way through the second month. While in your kitsune form you can access more of your power, and you can access your kitsune form and any hybrid of it at any time, like your wolf form."**_

"How about my madness? I'm not one to think I'm sane," pointed out the former kage (20), with a bitter laugh "I've lost too much to be sane. What happens when I accidentally kill a civilian because they wake me, and it's not someone I know?" _'I don't think killing will help the problem,'_ his hands were already dirty, but he didn't want to make them dirtier.

"_**Your body's reflexes will be yours to control; you are still as fast and strong as you are now, and while you may react slightly differently to each situation, I am certain that as a shinobi and a Hokage, you can keep them under control."**_ Shinigami said _**"In the case of an accidental death, summon me by chanting my name five times, and I will temporarily allow you to do whatever is necessary to either clean up the incident or restore the person's life."**_

'_Wow,'_ thought Minato, staring at the god, _'he sure is giving me a lot of leeway.'_ The war-hardened kage wasn't a fool; gods didn't do this for nothing. "What's in it for you?"

"_**I already told you, mago. I like you, and the fact that you're now my grandson and family is reason enough to do what I am for you,"**_ Shinigami said with a smirk _**"Besides, my underlings need a chaotic factor in their lives, and you fit that role perfectly."**_ _'What?'_ _**"They have become complacent, and I recently found that one, King Yemma, believes he can dictate who is allowed to be reincarnated."**_

'_That sounds like a problem,'_ agreed the kage, but he wasn't just going to sit here and accept what the gods gave him. "I accept, but on a few conditions of my own," Minato said firmly, standing up and folding his arms. The gods both nodded, looking interested; Inari even looked like she was ready to do what he asked. One, I am tired of my family being ripped apart, and taken from me. It's happened 6 times now, counting my death," Minato said firmly "No more. Whatever drama occurs in the human world, I do not want you to separate us again. Two, I want to know if I can see my _son_ again; if it is possible, I want to have a hand in raising him." He swallowed hard "That one is difficult to grant, so tell me now if it's impossible."

"_**It is possible, but it will not be for quite some time. You do mean the child you left behind, yes?"**_ Minato nodded, increasingly aware of the dull ache in his chest where he considered his heart to be. Shinigami nodded _**"For that, you will have to wait, but you will have a hand in raising him. I might go so far as to say you **__**will**__** see him again...much sooner than you think."**_

Minato felt as if a weight was lifted from his shoulders, and he almost cried at the thought of seeing Naruto again. The deities before him waited patiently as he wiped his eyes and continued, the dull pain eased a little by the thought "Third, I will need information on the world you are sending me to. It's not enough to know what you've told me. I'm certain technology is different, and while it may seem funny to you to watch me try and work these things, I will most certainly break one of your conditions as a result of being unable to understand how things in this new world work." Shinigami and Inari looked at one another for a long moment.

Then the goddess replied _**"You will gain the knowledge of this world you need before you arrive; it will be in the form of memory implants. Do your best not to forget it,"**_ Minato nodded, _**"You will have a few extra gifts on the side as a result, though; most high school students do not know or understand discrete calculus."**_

Minato stared at her for a moment; _'What's that?'_ he wondered, before continuing "Fourth, I will need an outlet." Both of them stared at him "I may not be able to access my full power, but either way, I will need a way to relieve stress. Is there a place I can do this without attracting undue attention?" Shinigami nodded after a moment; _'good, I really don't want to wind up killing anyone,'_ he thought "Will this also work for my transformations?" he asked, and the god once again nodded.

"_**Your transformations will not be involuntary, in light of the fact that you were dead for twenty years and have spent most of your time in the hybrid state since then,"**_ Shinigami stated _**"Your limits on the transformations and how many months you can go without have changed, however."**__ 'How so? Will it help?'___Before he could voice his question aloud, the god continued _**"You can hold off both for three years' worth of transformations before you have a force-change. However, I would recommend you keep a calendar of some kind, or watch your energy levels. You are entering on a few days before the full moon."**_

Minato nodded; _'good; there is an outlet, as well. But where?'_ he asked, and was promptly answered by Inari _**"Your family is quite wealthy in this world. There are yet areas of their new house they have not yet discovered, including the grounds,"**_ Minato's eyes widened a little at the revelation _**"Is that all your conditions?"**_

"Hai (22)," Minato replied, bowing his head to them slightly in respect. "Are they acceptable?" he looked back up at them, his eyes never once leaving theirs.

"_**Of course they are; they are in fact quite reasonable,"**_ replied Shinigami, _**"In light of your acceptance, this is for you,"**_ within the god's hand swirled an orb, much like in Kurama's, but the power felt much greater. _**"Control of this power will be natural."**_ Minato accepted the orb, letting it into his core and feeling it fuse with the rest of them, leaving behind a slight marking of a pinprick of light where the orb entered, only it was black with a bright white center. An extremely cold feeling rushed through his body before it vanished as well.

"_**Before you go, you should know that every person you once knew is now alive and well in this new world,"**_ Inari said, winking at him _**"Including a certain kitsune."**_ Minato paused, staring at the goddess; _'They're alive? All of them?'__** "This is also for you, mago,"**_she offered him what looked like a multi-colored orb _**"My gift to you, as my avatar as well as your grandfather's. Like his, you can control this power naturally."**_ The orb drifted into his chest once again, and the Hokage felt blazing pain, before numbness and then normal once again.

"I'm your avatar as well?" he asked her, and Inari nodded. _'New, but not entirely out of my league here yet,'_ he thought, continuing with "I do have one question. How long will I have to sleep?" Shinigami only laughed, and shook his head; this time he sounded really amused.

"_**You'll find out, mortal. Now, before you go, there are a few things you need to know."**_ Minato raised a questioning eyebrow at the god _**"Your summoning contracts function, and you are capable of using quite a few others as well. You should reverse-summon yourself to the summons realm to speak with the bosses after you finish regaining your powers; there will be quite a few surprises waiting there. Your physical form nearly exactly matches the one you hold now, and," **_here he smirked _**"you're welcome to figure out how to use your seals here. Have fun, mago-musuko."**_

"_**One more thing,"**_ Inari said as the Shinigami waved his hand, and a portal appeared, revealing a hospital room with an unconscious, though human (in appearance) Minato lying on the bed, his face pale and lifeless _**"Your family has gifts as well, though they are keeping them secret from one another. Attempt to bridge the gap, and you can form a stronger family tie than any other."**_

Minato nodded; _'I'll even train them, if it gets that far,'_ he decided. Then out loud, he said "Very well, I will remember what you have said. Arigato, Shinigami-sama, Inari-dono," he bowed to both of them respectfully and uncrossed his arms.

"_**Don't bow to us, we're your grandparents now,"**_ chorused the gods with equal smirks. Then they chanted something Minato understood as a resurrection spell, but couldn't remember; the words exited his mind as quickly as they entered his ears, and he blacked out before they finished chanting.

Alright, that ends chapter one!

Chapter Translations:

1-Shinigami-God of Death.

2-Kyuubi-for the purposes of this story, Kyuubi means Nine-Tails. Kyuubi _no Youko_ means Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

3-Yondaime Hokage-Yondaime is fourth, and Hokage is Fire shadow, or leader of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Konohagakure no Sato.

4-Konohagakure no Sato-One of the Five Hidden Villages in the Elemental Countries in the Land of Fire. Their leaders are military dictators (all Shinobi villages have military dictators, though they are loved by their people in every village) and head of both the civilians and shinobi, or ninja in the village. The Village Hidden in the Leaves has won every one of the 3 World Wars (that is, Konoha, or Konohagakure no Sato).

5-Kunai-Ninja knife; each of them differ slightly in design. Look up the tri-pronged ones on Google Images; they're the favored weapon of the Yellow Flash/Kiiroi Senkou in the storyline. They are designed to catch swords and disarm opponents quickly.

6-Chakra-Chakra is energy, reiki, etc. You may see it referred to as ki in other fanfictions, but it is the same thing. Shinobi with the elemental affinities use less chakra to use techniques that require that element. Each element has its own special ability; water drenches, obviously, fire burns, lightning shocks and crumples, earth is for defense and does not include plants, and wind cuts. More minor affinities are ice (combo wind-water), storm (combo wind-water-lightning), wood (combo earth-water), blaze (combo wind-fire), space, time, gravity, crystal (earth and fire), metal (fire, water, earth), and a few others.

7-Rasengan-do I need to tell you this? LOOK IT UP; it's described much better than I can do justice on the Naruto wiki. Minato has not combined elements with his; he hasn't had the time nor luck to succeed. A few techniques are going to be reserved for his students.

8-Hiraishin-Translates to Flying Thunder God. Creates a type of time breach using the elements of time and space that allow you to pass through anything (and I really do mean anything), but to use the time-breach part of it you must, must, _must_ have the Senshi no Reishin. Finally, it is not bound to the tri-pronged kunai; they just make it easier. This usually requires seals to locate where you're going if you use the teleportation-style Hiraishin which can be used by those without the bloodline limit.

9-Basically, the Namikaze clan came from a dimension where will was power. That's the source of the bloodline limit.

10-Senshi no Reishin-It directly translates to Soldier's Spirit, but it's actually Warrior's Spirit & I translated it backward. If someone finds the actual translation please PM me and I'll correct it. Basically, it differs from person to person & the yellow chakra is a source of it. Werewolf? That's a part of it as well. It manifests differently person-to-person and grants you protection from mental invasion, foreign chakra invasion, and can spiral out of control and attack anyone it considers or sees as a threat subconsciously. It provides the healing factor he has, has the potential for evolution and also functions off of a persons' willpower. The Namikazes weren't royalty-in fact they were not well-known in their home dimension, but now that they've become strong; in Konoha they _were_ royalty and by far the oldest clan.

11-Namikaze Fuuinjutsu-Namikaze Sealing Technique/Seal: Minato Namikaze-his name means Harbor Wavewind, but it's a real name: no Fuuin-That means Seal of, so it translates entirely to Namikaze Sealing Technique: Seal of Minato Namikaze, with Kai being Open. It sealed off the darker powers he had that Minato never wanted to touch again after figuring them out the first time.

12-Mikazuki-His sword, it may say Mikazuki in other chapters but it _means _Crescent Moon. It's the clan sword and he reforged it with one of his teeth as part of the blade, taking from Inuyasha here!

13-Bijuu-Tailed Beast

14-Kitsune-Spirit Fox, basically a demon fox but not an evil one for the purposes of this story

15-youki-demonic chakra

16-chakra signature-every living/dead being has an energy signature that is unique; Minato can 'read' it and is known as a 'sensory' type, as he could do so naturally & he is much better at it than a normal person.

17-Nogitsune-A kitsune or demon fox not sworn to Inari, Goddess of Nature and Mother of all Foxes. Evil.

18-Inari-Mother of All Foxes, Kitsune Queen, and Goddess of Nature; married to Shinigami

19-Mago (musuko)-grandson; musuko is 'son', and so is 'sochi'.

20-kage-shadow, a title of Minato's old position or rank

21-Hitai-ate-headband with a metal plate on the front; Minato's is engraved with the Konoha symbol. Can have any color or length for strap, but standard two lengths: short and long.

22-hai-yes

**A/N: Hey, to all my reviewers-I plan on answering your questions in my author's notes at the beginning and ending of every chapter. The next chapter's much longer, but needs editing before it can be put up and as you may know I have next to no free time (I don't have a regatta this weekend though, so I can finally sleep in!).**

**If you dislike the story, stop reading it. Flames will fuel the fires of my creativity. Thank you for reading chapter one. And don't worry-the next one will be better.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey, it's Arashi again. I haven't updated because I had AP Exams and no time to edit this. I meant to give it a going-over yesterday but I got distracted and taken to see The Avengers by my dad instead. By the way, I don't own that and IT'S AMAZING! **

**On a good note, though, I had a make-up AP exam today and I think I did well. It's one of the 2 APs I've absolutely loved all year. That's the reason behind this update-that and the crew season has ended, so we're done and I have more free time. **

**Pairings will be named later but are canon for this universe (you'll see what I mean…). I do not own Minato, Kushina, or anyone else but the OCs; I **_**do**_** own the bloodlines that aren't Kishimoto's, most of the jutsu (techniques) and the additions to them I've made. I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, Rurouni Kenshin, or any other mentioned crossover anime either. Mina/Kushi is a definite so you cannot vote on their pairing; if you make suggestions on pairings I may take them, or I may not.**

**Please enjoy, and thank you. I know, I know, I dislike review hounds, but **_**please**_**-I need a little feedback. Leaving a review on even 1 chapter, even if you're telling me I've messed up characterization, would help tremendously. I'm sorry I haven't updated before now but my time was effectively being eaten by crew and homework and I barely had time to write, let alone edit what I had written. **

**Chapter Two: Waking Up**

His first coherent thought was _'my head hurts,'_ but it was quickly followed by _'what is that infernal beeping sound? Damn whoever invented that thing!'_ Minato's head hurt from the new senses; mostly his hearing, because while he was incredibly aware of everything he was touching, it didn't hurt like the beeping did. The hospital smells of sickness and antiseptic flooded his nostrils, making him nearly gag, but the beeping noise he was hearing was much worse. He used his chakra to regulate his heartbeat to mimic that of a sleeping person while he continued thinking. No reason to trouble them yet; he also immediately cloaked his chakra signature to the point that he felt only a little stronger than the average civilian.

'_I'm just not used to it yet,'_ he thought, wincing as he recognized the feel of the catheter. _'I really hate these things.'_ The kage used his chakra to disconnect it without opening his eyes, _immediately_; they were incredibly uncomfortable and Minato knew it was awkward to disconnect one while standing. He'd done it, quite a few times in fact; the Namikaze had made too many hospital visits to enjoy them.

Then he turned his mind to the beeping noise, which he noticed was made up of two separate sounds on different frequencies; _'who invented those machines? Were they __trying__ to destroy the hearing of certain people, and animals?'_ A slightly darker thought occurred to him; _'this sound would be an extremely effective torture method. A steady beeping noise that bores the opponent to death with no novelty and possibly damages their hearing; I'll have to develop a seal that can mimic it,'_ decided the Hokage, before turning his attention to what he could feel.

From what he could feel and smell (antiseptic had quite a distinctive smell), he was wearing a breathing mask. It also meant his mouth was restricted and so if he was awake, he potentially couldn't tell anyone about it. Minato was slightly annoyed about the mask, but relieved that none of the chakra signatures in the room had stirred since he had disconnected the catheter.

The first chakra signature felt warm, but completely unfamiliar. A part of him screamed for him to jump the bed, throw it at the signature, and get into a fight for his life. Minato wisely ignored the paranoid part of himself; _'I think I need to see a psychiatrist,'_ he decided, _'if I don't make __them__ traumatized, that is.'_ Then he felt for the memories given by the Shinigami and Inari, and the paranoia began to cease as his mind sorted the memories out.

'_What would I say to them anyway? And who _is_ this?'_ he wondered, feeling for the chakra signature again. This time he began feeling out the differences in the chakra signature's fluctuations, determining more about the owner. The person was a young woman, sixteen years old, and the exact same age as him, only born two minutes later. _'Hmm…related, possibly twins?'_ he wondered, as he continued. Her main affinity was wood, but her secondary affinity was space. _'Not surprising, mostly because of her dormant Senshi no Reishin,'_ he realized, feeling the secondary chakra behind the regular chakra all humans possessed.

For a moment, he searched for the bestial part his had. Finding nothing, he concluded _'but she is no werewolf or kitsune; she is human, or as human as a Namikaze can get, without the bestial piece of the celestial Kekkei Genkai (1). Pity; it makes hers at least five degrees weaker. Though it feels as if she has a god's hand on her as well, not the two I serve, but a more minor one…hmm…'_

He would have to investigate that later. For now, he continued searching; her signature made it feel as if she was asleep, and there was the sign of a twin bond in her aura as she appeared to him, outlined in his mind. Backing away from that part of her aura, he reached to the next presence, and his eyes widened beneath the lids involuntarily as he did so. _'Kushina,'_ he realized, freezing on the bed, and internally thankful those in the room thought he was still asleep. From the warm, familiar feel of her chakra signature, she was dozing but not entirely asleep, and she was lying in the sun. Imagining her for a moment, he pulled away from the familiar bond to her mind he felt, as they were soul mates (2).

'_Sorry hime,'_ he thought, trembling slightly on the bed, forcing his body to quiet, and his emotions back as he felt her signature. Certainly, the Uzumaki strength remained, as well as the part of her soul that told him she retained her Kekkei Genkai from her previous life, the Ryuu no Reishin (3); strangely, that also seemed dormant. _'I will have to teach them to bring them out, won't I?'_ he thought, enveloping himself in her warmth and feeling her dozing presence relax a little as his signature brushed up against hers. The soul bond between them remained (as he examined her signature a little further), though it was dormant as well, giving off a little bit of a spark as he touched it before retreating.

Reluctantly, he turned his attention to the third presence in the room, which was just waking up from next to his bed. The presence wasn't quite as warm and bright as Kushina's or his twin's, nor did it have a bond with his own, but it was gentle. _'Wait a minute…'_ he thought, cracking one eyelid open. He immediately regretted it, because light blinded him painfully for a moment, and he waited for his eye to adjust.

The presence belonged to a woman dressed in a doctor's coat with long, silky black hair tied back in a low ponytail. She had green eyes, which he caught the barest glimpse of when she looked at him, and she was shorter than him (by a good amount). Her presence was truthful, and honest; he could trust her to take his vitals though he had no idea who she really was. Her chakra signature screamed of purity; _'a miko,'_ he decided, _'though not completely trained, she has the abilities of a mid-Chuunin level medic (4). Impressive, for a civilian.'_

He let his eye drift shut again and focused on the machines. Sensing them out using a tendril of his chakra, making it as invisible as the air they breathed, he found a heart rate monitor, an IV drip attached to his arm, and a sedative connected to the IV drip that was mostly empty. _'They had to sedate me, didn't they?'_ he thought, with an inward slight smirk _'At least I'm not tied down. I could wait until the doctor leaves, but then I wouldn't learn her name, and I would like to know who is taking care of my family-or me.'_

Carefully, Minato began to stop regulating his heartbeat. He listened to the steady beeping of the heart monitor, cracking his other eyelid open and wincing slightly at the increased noise as his heartbeat returned to its normal state; then he suppressed his senses to a level he could currently stand. The doctor/nurse gasped (quite audibly) as Minato shifted slightly on the bed, regretting it as the metal on the edge of the bed was almost painfully cold to his newly enhanced sense of touch.

'_No going back,'_ he told himself, before opening his eyes fully, and blinking a few times to give himself time to cast a Genjutsu over the nonhuman parts of his appearance (claws, which had replaced his nails when he was five; sharp teeth, which were now normal after 5 years of fighting, and his ears and eyes, which both seemed like they belonged better on a fox or wolf than a human), and his scars. He looked up into concerned pastel green eyes, and swallowed silently against a dry throat as an unfamiliar black-haired woman looked down at him; she was the miko (5) he had felt.

"You're awake," she said softly; even that noise made his ears ring for now, but his healing kicked in almost immediately after. She disconnected the oxygen mask from his face. Smells suddenly invaded his nose, and Minato tried and failed to hold in a cough at the way the hospital room stank. Antiseptic, sickness, and blood permeated the air to the point that he could barely breathe. He forced himself to keep breathing, reminding himself that normal humans had to breathe to survive (and he really didn't want to give himself away already), "It's a miracle, Namikaze-san (6)," she said, her voice reverberating through his ears as they adjusted and he reached over and pressed the button that would raise him into a sitting position.

Minato blinked at her; _'a miracle, she says,'_ he thought, _'I can use that.'_ Once he was sitting up, he examined the room around him. The hospital room itself wasn't as bare as the ones he had grown used to waking in during the Third World War (during the Second, his teacher had been too careful to let him wind up in them from battle; he still visited on occasion from chakra exhaustion (7)), and there were a few pictures on the walls. Paintings, in fact; one of them was of the beach at sunset, and it was beautiful. The artist had captured it perfectly, including the waves and the slight breeze catching on the sand in the foreground.

He didn't really care about the other paintings, as they weren't of that painting's caliber, though they were pretty. One of them was of a large beech tree, and the other was of birds in flight; _'what time is it now?'_ he wondered, turning to look out the window to get his bearings.

"Namikaze-san?" asked the brunette softly "Is something wrong?" he had grown used to her voice's level by now, and inwardly he marveled at how his bloodline had improved since his death; touching things was no longer painful either. _'The last time I got increased senses I could barely stand to be around people, and I had to head to the mountain house,'_ he recalled, _'this is much better.'_

He turned to her, and gave her a small smile before shaking his head and turning back to the window. Long spikes of blond hair brushed his shoulders and he saw his bangs fall into his eyes for a moment. Shaking his head slightly to get his long bangs out of his eyes, he looked out the window into the trees he could see there; while no bird was in immediate sight he could feel a few of them were just out of sight. Their chakra signatures were beautiful and innocent, more so than a human's ever could be (except a newborn baby), making him smile a little more.

It was cloudy, looking as if it had rained last night, and Minato smiled as he heard through the closed window the sounds of birds chirping outside. _'Pity I can't hear them more clearly; I'd love to know what they were saying,'_ he'd discovered he could understand all creatures when he was little, and it was a skill he had kept extremely well-hidden. However, there was no way you could hide from him in his own village, because the animals were loyal to him (though all of them understood he was a predator and omnivore).

From the slight light breaking through the clouds and the smell of newness in the air, not to mention the sharp edge it held, he could tell it was early morning. Closing his eyes, he reached out with another tendril of chakra, this time into the earth and open air; _'it's about five am,'_ he decided, and let his chakra signature brush along the natural source of energy of the Earth for a moment, enjoying the clean feeling of the light sprinkles of rain still falling outside.

Then he retreated and looked back at the nurse, deciding to speak. When he opened his mouth to try, nothing but a dry croak came out and his throat began to burn; he coughed a few times and gave her an apologetic smile. _'Figures,'_ he thought, looking at the occupants of the room (whom he'd glanced over before).

"I'll get you something to drink," the nurse/miko said quietly, and left the room. He took the time to look at his twin and Kushina, who were both peacefully sleeping. His twin was sleeping on a chair by his bedside, still wearing what looked like clothes for a warm climate. Tan Capri's and a dark blue t-shirt covered her body and a pair of brown sandals covered her feet, accented with white flower designs. Her hair was long and sun-kissed blond, just like his own, and she appeared to be shorter than him by at least half a foot if not more.

Minato glanced at himself, and sighed, near-silently; _'great, at least I'm wearing an adult-sized hospital gown,'_ he thought, leaning forward to kneel on the bed and ignoring the discomfort moving against the covers and his hospital gown caused him. His twin was obviously a girl; her face was curved and nearly heart-shaped, with a somewhat prominent chin, a small nose, and eyes that weren't shaped like his. They were too wide, and from her high cheekbones and age, he knew, too innocent to be like his. Her skin was also lighter than his light bronze; hers was a golden-tan color, covering her body flawlessly, and a bandage was barely visible over her left shoulder, hidden behind the sleeve of her t-shirt.

A feeling he hadn't felt in over twenty years swept over him as she began to stir, and he froze. _'What…'_ he thought, as a wave of protective love, not unlike that which he had felt for Rin, swept over his entire body. Only, unlike with Rin, he could see the relationship they shared in her chakra signature, and as it stirred, he remained where he was, staring at her. _'It's been so long since…'_ he stopped himself, as shock swirled through him. And then surprise, though not all of it was his.

"Mm…" a voice said, not his own but female, in his mind. Recognizing her voice, he swallowed back the feelings threatening to overpower him to smile at her as her eyes opened. They were hazel, just like Tsunade's, but they were much brighter. Her eyes widened and her hand shot up to her mouth to cover the gasp that threatened to emerge; he heard it anyway.

For a moment, the twins stared at each other; Minato etched every last detail of her face into his mind, including the slightly darker color of her cheeks compared to her eyelids. He could feel her shock and surprise, and then the fierce hope that burned inside of her as she reached out through the bond they shared. Minato shielded his innermost self from her probing touch, inwardly wincing as he did so; _'I wish I could tell you, imoutou (8),'_ he thought, finishing with the barriers he placed on his mind before he reached back out to her.

"Aniki (9)?" she asked, staring at him wide-eyed; then aloud she whispered, her voice chiming and soft, almost like bells "Aniki, are you really-am I dreaming?" she sounded so hopeful Minato couldn't bring himself to tease her, though he could later.

He reached out, sitting back in the bed and getting comfortable before taking her hand and gently rubbing his thumb across her knuckles "I can't talk because my throat's dry," he replied, "but I know you're not dreaming. You haven't been dreaming since you woke up, imoutou-chan (10)," he said kindly, smiling at her. Nagging doubt whispered to him _You don't deserve her,_ but he ignored it for now.

'_Shinigami, I owe you one, and you too Inari,'_ he thought, taking his sister's concerned hazel gaze in and noticing that she had fallen asleep crying. Her cheeks still bore the faint traces of tear tracks. Then what he had said appeared to register with her, and she gasped softly before rising to her feet and throwing her arms around his shoulders, clutching to him tightly "Aniki!"

"Shh," he whispered to her, gently rubbing circles on the back of her shirt using his left hand (and keeping his claws retracted; he didn't want to put a hole in her shirt) and smelling the tang of salty tears as they struck his shoulder, wetting the shoulder of his hospital gown as she cried in relief. "I'm alright, imoutou," he murmured to her through their link "I'm alright. I promise, I'm alright now," he told her, and continued reassuring her as she sobbed.

'_Reminds me of Rin,'_ he thought with a nostalgic smile, smelling the faint scents of lily and jasmine in his sister's hair, as well as watermelon, likely from her shampoo. Now that he could see her more clearly, he could tell her long blond hair fell down to the middle of her back, with a few bangs, leaving her most of her forehead visible to the rest of the world. Eventually she drew back, and smiled at him weakly "Are you sure you're alright? I can't-the bond feels like it was ripped apart," she whispered to him, "what happened?"

"Imoutou…" Minato hesitated, but then realized _'I can get out of this by pretending amnesia, and it's not __technically__ a lie. I'm not him. I never will be, and having amnesia and having to catch up in school will help with that.'_ "I don't remember."

"Do you remember anything at all?" she asked him and he raised an eyebrow at her. "Ok, do you know what happened during World War Two?" Minato winced and nodded; the atomic bomb was by far the worst thing that had happened to Japan, and he let the information slide over the link. She asked a few more school-related questions, one of them involving calculus, all of which he answered, and then she sighed out loud "How about what happened a few weeks ago to put you in the hospital?"

He shook his head. "I know you're my sister," _'I really hope she doesn't ask me to tell her how,'_ prayed the former kage "and I know I'm in the hospital. From the way the nurse acted, and you, it's a miracle I'm awake, isn't it?" he asked, and she nodded, tears forming in her eyes again. Minato felt guilt rush through him for a moment; _'I'm not the brother you're looking for, and I'm sorry, for what it's worth.'_

"My name is Miyuki," she said, squeezing his hand with a smile "I'm your twin sister, younger than you by two minutes." _'Good to see I haven't gotten rusty in my old age,'_ he thought, "Kushina, the redhead sitting in the corner, is my best friend. The nurse's name is Yoshiko Haruno," _'That explains things; I thought Ikuko had pink hair?'_ "One of her children, Ikuko, though she has pink hair and her father's blue eyes, is our classmate in high school."

"Makes sense," _'at least some of what I remember is true,'_ he thought "How about our family? I can learn about school later," he halted her with a look, as she was about to question him again "And about our friends. I really want to know about our family; I don't remember any of them." He saw the expression of shocked surprise cross her face again, as well as some sorrow, but then she brightened and began to explain.

"You and I are twins, but we have a little brother named Kenji and a little sister named Tsukiko." _'Incredible. I have THREE siblings…'_ he thought, momentarily floored. "Kenji looks like a mirror image of Dad; you both have blue eyes, like dad, but Kenji's are darker, royal blue and his hair is styled like yours, but shorter. Since Dad's got reddish-gold hair, so does Kenji. You've got the same bronze tone to your skin, but you're darker than all the rest of us. Kenji also hates you; I don't quite know why but he has for quite some time, though it's gotten worse lately." _'Ok…that's on my list of what to fix,'_ he decided as she continued "Kenji is in middle school right now, eighth grade to be exact, and he's fourteen on April 22nd," she explained. Minato nodded "To give you an idea of the time, it's April 2nd, and you and I are both sixteen as of January 25th." She also gave him a mental picture of Kenji, something Minato memorized quickly.

"That makes sense," the commander replied, "Continue, Miyuki." He winked at her "And remember, whoever I was, I'm not him anymore, ok?" _'You can trust me imoutou…'_ he could see the nervousness in her actions and how she looked at him as if expecting a furious denial or something similar. _'I grew up a civilian here,'_ he reminded himself, _'and likely with a big ego, since I didn't grow up during and fight in two world wars.'_

"Tsukiko is another mix of Tou-san (11) and Kaa-san (12), but the opposite of you. She's seven, eight on July 4th," Minato nodded, motioning for her to continue, "She has my hair style but red-gold hair like Tou-san and she has Kaa-san's hazel eyes but they're much closer to gold than mine are. She also has my skin tone, and she's about four and a half feet tall." Minato nodded once again; _'why name her 'moon child' though?' _"She's named moon child because she was born on the night of the blue moon," explained Miyuki "and Kaa-san chose her name. Tou-san named the two of us, and Kaa-san named Kenji and Tsukiko. With me so far?" he nodded "Good. Er…we haven't exactly been the best family we can be, though."

'_I have the feeling we're individuals living under the same roof, aren't we?'_ he mused silently. More questions plagued his mind, and as he was pretending to be a teenager, it was more than possible for him to ask them. So he did "Are we more like individuals living together in the same household, but Tou-san and Kaa-san are distant, concerned parents?" Miyuki winced and nodded. _'I will do my best to fix that,'_ he thought, sadly "How about relatives?"

"You get along well with Uncle Jiraiya, and Aunt Tsunade really likes Kushina and me. Both of them are more like your parents than Tou-san and Kaa-san, or so you told me," Minato inwardly winced, but was relieved his adoptive parents had a good relationship with him in this alternate world. "Sometimes Jiraiya-oji (13)has nightmares, something about a Jinchuuriki (14), failing his 'baka gaki's' (15), or a person similar to a son's, last wish, and a son the 'baka gaki' left behind. Or so I've heard; Jiraiya-oji won't say anything about it. I only heard about it through you. Tsunade-oba (16) seems to understand, though." Minato froze, staring at his sister "He sometimes screams for the villagers, whoever they are to-Minato, are you ok?"

'_Jiraiya-sensei's (17) here…'_ Minato thought, staring at her wide-eyed, and for a moment he thought back to the day they had met. _'I don't blame you sensei. I really don't.'_ "Nothing's wrong, I'm just surprised because I had a dream about someone known as a Jinchuuriki. I can't really recall many of the details though," he told her; _'she'll buy it, sadly. She trusts me,'_ thought the legend, and he was proven right when his sister nodded.

"We have cousins, and we _had_ a family reunion coming up sometime in the next two weeks. They're cousins on Dad's side of the family; he has two sisters and Mom has an older brother who also brings his family. Kaa-san's parents passed away when she was little and Tou-san's parents…they don't like you. I'll tell you more about our cousins later, before the reunion; just remind me ok?"_ 'Guess I have more to work on than I thought,'_ thought Minato to himself, nodding _'This should be interesting.' _"Our dad is a martial artist and an actor, and he taught us enough to defend ourselves, but nothing more, at least for you. I get lessons from Tsunade-oba, and you learned some from Jiraiya-oji, but I think he corrupted you-or who you were, he made you into a closet pervert. Kaa-san's a singer and she also practices martial arts though she prefers to use a bokken (18)."

Abruptly, Minato chuckled, or tried to and found himself coughing violently. His bloodline kicked in as the nurse (Haruno-isha, he would call her) returned with water. She smiled at him kindly "Here, Namikaze-san; this should help. Good to see you awake, Miyuki-chan," she added, directing this at Miyuki as Minato picked up the glass of water and stared into its depths, seeing his own, feral gaze reflected back at him after momentarily seeing ordinary human eyes. Despite elaborate Genjutsu, he could not hide from his own eyes; it was something he had long-since accepted.

'_I have a real family. We're not the best at showing affection, from what Miyuki's told me, but I have a __real family__. I probably didn't help matters much before, or he didn't…that changes starting right now,'_ decided the kage, before paling slightly as his thoughts took a darker turn _'though I pray they don't walk in on my nightmares. I'm crazy enough as it is. I don't hear voices, but that's because of the gods' gifts healing me.'_ With that in mind, he drank the water; if it happened to be poisoned the worst that would happen is that he would have it run through his system faster. His sister filled the nurse in on the situation of his mind while he drank, and he listened only partially because all she was doing was explaining that he had amnesia.

Immediately the dull burning sensation in his throat eased, disappearing completely as he drank down the entire glass of water. Clearing his throat, he spoke aloud "Can you tell me more, Miyuki?" he asked softly, and Miyuki stared at him, as did Haruno-isha "Arigato (19) for the water, Haruno-isha (20)," he said, setting the glass on the bedside table. Yoshiko's eyes widened as she stared at him, and he mentally sighed "I wasn't that bad, was I?"

Miyuki hesitated, and that was all the proof he needed; _'yes, I really was that bad,'_ he thought. Yoshiko said "My daughter likes you, or did; she's your classmate," Minato twitched; he remembered being chased by a pink-haired, blue-eyed fan girl the first time and prayed it wouldn't happen again "You're the guy everyone wants to be at school, always dating the popular girls, and worried about appearances like most teens. You think you're amazing, but most teenage boys think they know best." _'Right now that's true, Haruno-isha, because I'm over forty, but I understand. Besides, there are things I have yet to learn and experience,'_ he replied silently "You can't carry a tune, sadly, to save your life, but Miyuki's easily got the best voice of your school," he looked at his sister in surprise, and Miyuki lowered her head, blushing.

"I love singing," she said nervously, and Minato could see she was expecting a jealous envy to return. Minato laughed, and shook his head, smiling at her "W-What're you laughing about, aniki?" she asked in confusion.

"You shouldn't jump to conclusions imoutou-chan (21); just because I can't sing or couldn't carry a tune, doesn't mean I'm tone-deaf now. Besides, why should I be jealous when my sister's complimented?" he asked her, making her eyes widen in shock "A very wise man once said, if you truly love someone, you put their happiness before your own." He winced as he remembered the night of the sealing; _'Sometimes you can't, because if you do they will die_.' "If you love it and it makes you happy, then I'm happy for you." _'I have a lot of damage to undo, and I have to work past my own scars…this expressing myself is more difficult than I thought,'_ it was almost like pulling teeth for him to admit the difficulty to himself, but not because of his pride. It felt too much like he was opening himself to them and shinobi didn't let down their guard, yet here he was doing exactly that.

'_This is why I'm not allowed to use my powers for the first few months,'_ he realized, _'and I'll probably overreact to being awoken by any of them for the first few days. I am thankful I can't access my full powers right now.'_ Emotions flowed over him like a tidal wave, embodying the affection his sister felt for him, and the increasing amount of trust she was placing in him. It hurt more because he knew he was lying to her, even if it was to protect her from his past.

He looked past Yoshiko and Miyuki to Kushina, as he felt her signature shifting, as she came to wakefulness. She had been sleeping in a chair in the corner. Her face was hidden, mostly by her hair, but his memory would fill in what he had forgotten. Her hair was a fiery red here (instead of the more crimson color he remembered, but he loved it all the same) and reached down in wavy locks just past her shoulders, which made him internally frown. _'She looked better with it long,'_ he thought, _'but I haven't told her that here have I?'_

She was as tall as he remembered, having reached her original height of five foot six and a half inches. Her skin was paler than Minato's or Miyuki's, but somewhat of a light tan, and her bangs were already grown out as they had been at this age. She was wearing a pair of jean Capri's, blue and lighter tan sandals, and a forest green shirt that contrasted beautifully with her hair. He could see the trademark royal blue spiral of the Uzumaki clan on the front, and as he stared at her, her forest green eyes opened to meet his. Their gazes met, and she stared at him, before turning to Miyuki "This is real?" she asked, her voice heavy with sleep as she cleared her throat.

"Yes, Kushina," replied Miyuki as Kushina got up, stretching like a cat; Minato quickly shifted his gaze to Miyuki, as she continued "My brother's ok, but, uh…" she looked at him and back to Kushina "He's lost some of his memories. He doesn't remember us. Minato, this is Kushina Uzumaki, my best friend," Minato bit the inside of his lip to prevent the tears from forming in his eyes as he saw his wife's shadowed form overlaid on Kushina's. The Uzumaki stared back at him; _'please don't let me break down now, please don't,'_ Minato thought, as Miyuki continued "I talked to him through the bond. It felt as if it had been ripped apart, and he can't lie through it."

'_Actually I can,'_ Minato thought with a hidden wince, _'but I don't want to,'_ as he extended his hand to grasp Kushina's. A warm spark traveled up to his eyes, causing his vision to sharpen again _'shit,' _he thought as he was momentarily blinded by the light in the hospital room "It's nice to meet you, Uzumaki-san. According to my imoutou, I'm not a very nice person, or I wasn't," he shook her hand, and Kushina let out a bark of laughter.

"You really weren't," she confirmed, looking at him suspiciously "You were the most popular guy in school, though, and you're on track to become the senior captain of the track team." Minato chuckled; _'irony loves me, just like last time. I really hope-ah, who am I kidding, it'll be maybe two days before something bad happens! I'm a trouble magnet.' _"What's so funny?"

"I like the idea of running, and running fast and far," he replied, "It just struck me as funny, that's all." _'How am I going to hold back? That's __really__ going to be a problem,'_ he realized, releasing Kushina's hand before his lingered in her grip noticeably longer than it should have. She had released his at the same time, perhaps just realizing they'd been holding hands for a little too long. The redhead nodded, and Miyuki grinned at him "So, what more can you tell me? Do I perhaps skip class, or act out in a certain way? Is my brother involved in anything, or you, or Tsukiko-chan?"

Miyuki and Kushina traded significant looks, and Yoshiko pulled up two chairs. Kushina sat on his left, with Miyuki to his right, and Yoshiko beside Kushina, farther from him. Miyuki cleared her throat "I'm actually involved in a bit of trouble. How did you guess?" Minato shook his head with a nostalgic smile _'I knew it; Namikazes are trouble magnets.'_

"I have the feeling I'm a magnet for trouble, is all," he replied, "What is it that you're mixed up in, Miyuki? I promise I won't laugh," he added as she hesitated "No matter how stupid it is. If I laugh, it's either because it's ironic or I should have seen it coming," he reassured her "Imoutou, if it involves you having a boyfriend, the only condition I have is that I meet him." Miyuki appeared relieved, "You do have one," it was a statement, and not a question.

"Alright," Miyuki said; then she got up and shut the door to the room, picking up a sign that said 'Patient Sleeping-Do Not Disturb' and hanging it on the outside of the door before doing so. Then she walked back over and sat down "You're right. I'm mixed up in something big. I didn't exactly promise not to tell you, I just told them I would only tell someone I trusted," here she looked at Yoshiko and Kushina somewhat nervously _'Why did you choose me, Miyuki, when you don't know me?'_ thought Minato sadly, thinking ahead _'You're only going to hate me more when you find out now. However, this will make things easier in the long run for me to protect all of you.'_

He was no fool, and he knew he had to tell them the truth eventually. For now he wanted to enjoy his peaceful life with his family, but that would be impossible, especially if his sister was in real trouble and it had to do with her boyfriend. _'Come to think of it, I wonder if Kurama's alive,'_ he thought, as he said "If you feel that it is too private to tell in present company, you can always tell me later," he said gently "It's ok if you don't want to."

Miyuki smiled at him "I can't give you the details," _'typical,'_ he thought, motioning for her to continue "But I can tell you enough that you don't get worried about me. Uh, I have a job," she looked like she was making this part up, but he nodded; _'I will figure this out later, but if you start coming home injured I'll send a few Kage Bunshin out to help,'_ he decided as she continued "The teachers know my job is important, and while I can't tell them what it is either, I have an excuse to get out of school if something happens. I took the last few days off, mostly because you were here," _'I still need to know what happened,'_ he thought "but, I also have a boyfriend, and he's got my job-basically I help catch criminals most people don't know about," she explained. From the smell he was getting (nervousness, fear, and hidden truth), it was more than that, but he let her get away with it "My boss has a cell phone so sometimes I get calls from him. My boyfriend's part of the job, he works with me as a partner most of the time, as do my friends. I've tried to keep Kenji out of it, though, and so does Shuichi with his little brother." _'Makes sense,'_ he thought, _'it sounds dangerous. I bet Kenji didn't like that very much, though.'_

"Might I be able to join you, or do you need specific training for it?' he asked, and Miyuki hesitated. "It's really ok imoutou-chan; I'm not going to be angry or upset that I can't join. I'll be a little disappointed if I can't, but that's all," he reassured her, and felt her presence again. He caught a hint of kitsune in it, and smiled a little wider _'Kurama's involved, I'm certain of it. And if Kurama's involved, then it involves using your chakra,'_ he concluded.

"You need specific training for it, aniki," she said hesitantly "I don't want you to be worried if I just up and leave in the middle of a lesson, though." He nodded, and she continued "My boyfriend usually does the same thing with his classes. He's a senior, and he goes to our school. We go to Meioh High (23), just like Shuichi does." _'Ok…sounds like fun. I'm going to get mixed up in it though, I know it,'_ "Please, aniki," she said "The rest of the school thinks we're just friends, study partners sometimes in AP Bio, but nothing more. I want to keep it that way because he has a large fan club, like you do."

Minato chuckled as he thought of Kurama running from a horde of fan girls "Ok imoutou," he agreed, and then sobered realizing he'd have his own group. Kushina's scent, a mixture of citrus, fire and dragon, wafted toward him and made it difficult for him to think for a moment. Shaking off the distraction, even though he had already decided he loved her smell, he thought _'I'll just try to let it go; she's got training in using her chakra, and that's what counts. It means she can defend herself.' _"However," he said, and Miyuki flinched, but he smiled at her and she appeared to relax, though she still smelled afraid "If it becomes too much for you to handle, I want you to yell through the link," secretly, he drew a Hiraishin seal on his hand as he pretended to fidget a little with his fingers "Deal?" he offered her the hand with the seal on it, and she shook it, letting him transfer the seal easily without her noticing.

"Deal," she said as he slipped the seal up her arm and onto the back of her left shoulder, where it vanished into her skin. "I promise I'll yell for help if I need it," she said, releasing his hand. "Though I probably won't; I've been training for quite awhile now aniki."

"I also want you to close the link if you are in a private moment with your boyfriend; I really don't need to experience that," he teased lightly "I'm just trying to be a good brother, and a good friend." Aloud, he said "So your boyfriend's an upperclassman? Is there anything I need to know before I meet him?" _'I wonder…'_ he thought, thinking of the silver-haired kitsune he could feel and smell on her.

"Well, he has long red hair, kind of like Kushina," Miyuki replied "his is wavy though and it's a little odd, at least in the eyes of the boys in our class, to have such long hair and his manners are very-well, Kaa-san said he's very well-mannered." She blushed as she continued "I love playing with his hair. His eyes are green, much like Kushina's again, but they aren't related; both of them did a DNA test to make sure, when we first started dating and I was a freshman and he was a sophomore. At first, he tried to keep me out of his private life, including his job, because it's dangerous," she stopped, and continued sheepishly "but I kinda forced him to tell me after he turned up on our doorstep injured with one of his friends," she stopped again, and continued "He's really tall, like you, aniki. Though he said you're probably going to be taller than him by the time you're a senior, since you're now six foot two and he is too."

'_A tall, probably slender, well-mannered gentleman who is trying to protect my sister, from what I can tell,'_ thought Minato, as Miyuki produced a picture "This is us on our last date. He's let me lead our relationship from day one, and the few times he's nearly lost control he's backed off immediately." Her face was bright red; pheromones (vanilla, as he had noticed from his previous life) flooded the air around her and she mumbled "though last time I wouldn't have minded…" Minato took the picture from his sister, ignoring the added comment and smell, and looked at the redhead standing with his arms around her.

Miyuki was about half an inch taller than Kushina, so he could see the height difference between her and Shuichi was a little different than it would be with him and Kushina-_ 'stop that,'_ he told himself, pushing that thought out of his mind. She was leaning back against Shuichi's chest and both of them were smiling at the camera; Shuichi was exactly as his sister had described, and she was wearing a knee-length orange summer dress in this picture, with a jean jacket around her shoulders. _'They're both happy,'_ he decided from seeing their faces, though there was a slight glimmer of gold in Shuichi's eyes _'I want to meet him, but I don't disapprove.'_

Shuichi was slender, as he'd thought, but he appeared fairly muscular as he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, which showed off some scars on his arms, most likely from the job he held. His skin was almost the same shade as Miyuki's but something about his smile reminded Minato of Kurama, in those brief moments when they had met in the Shinigami's stomach. His shirt didn't have a collar, but Minato had the feeling Shuichi had dressed casually for the date. He was also wearing what looked like jean shorts (the male version), and scars were visible on his legs. Both were wearing sandals; Miyuki, the same pair she was wearing today, and Shuichi, a pair of plain brown ones.

Smiling at his sister, he handed her the picture "He sounds like someone I could be friends with," he said, "Does he have any interests outside school and the job you two share?" he asked; _'if this really is Kurama, then I'd like to be friends with him again, but even if it's not I don't mind.'_ "And what does he think of you?"

"He told me once that I'm the best thing that's ever happened to him," she said, still a dark pink color, though she was smiling "His interests include reading and training, but he also enjoys a good game, and he's a bit of a prankster." _'We're more similar than I thought, Miyuki,'_ "He's one of Kushina's friends as well. Shuichi's friends, however, you might not like as much," she hesitated, "they are Hiei Jaganshi, Yukina, Yusuke Urameshi, Keiko Yukimura, and Kazuma Kuwabara who everyone calls Kuwabara but myself and Kur-Shuichi." _'My theory has some credibility, it seems…'_ "And you don't need to worry about private moments, ok aniki? I always close down the bond for those," Minato nodded, grinning at her now as he thought about Shuichi and her relationship.

'_Both of us are attracted to redheads, ones that enjoy pulling pranks, and while they're not related, both of them also have long hair,'_ he chuckled inwardly at the observation, noting Haruno-isha had not been surprised once through the explanation. Kushina grinned at him, making his stomach do a somersault, and causing him to think; _'I'm falling for her again, aren't I? The bond is reactivating, so I must be.'_ While his face heated up a little, he listened "He's a great guy, and while his friend Hiei's a bit like an Uchiha and a Hyuuga, he's got a good reason to be like that. He didn't have the best childhood, according to Shuichi."

Miyuki nodded "I don't think you would get along with Hiei; you didn't the last time he visited. In fact, you _hate_ him while Kushina just dislikes him," Minato winced, feeling the pleasant warmth retreat; _'how badly did he beat me?'_ "He punched you a few times, beat you in a spar and called you a weakling. You were pretty worked up about it," she said, rubbing her pointer finger and thumb on her left hand together nervously, something that didn't go unnoticed by Minato. _'I don't think she can trust me, not completely yet anyway,'_ he realized, _'but that's fine; I'm not exactly telling the full truth here myself_.'

"How bad was I?" he asked with a sigh "It sounds like I was being a rebellious teenager; are there any random facts that our parents are going to ask about?" _'I don't want them to think I'm completely out of it, not yet.' _"I'm not planning on lying to them, I just don't want to make them worry," he explained, and barely glanced at the window as a bird nearly flew into it. He used his chakra to buffet the bird away from the window and used it to indicate that the window was _bad_ and it was _closed_, meaning it would hurt. At the same time, he closed off his touch to the bond he shared with Kushina before it grew any stronger.

The bird looked at him curiously for a moment before chirping its thanks and flying off, leaving Minato to listen to Miyuki and Kushina. However, it was Yoshiko that spoke first "You weren't nice to the unpopular people, according to my daughter anyway, and there are a few that dislike you as a result. Your friends included Fugaku Uchiha and Hiashi Hyuuga, though that began as the result of rebelling against your parents, who have a rivalry with both families. Both families think you're still being rebellious, and your parents have tried to discourage the friendship, which is more or less camaraderie than a real friendship." She explained all of this gently, but that made it hurt Minato more, rather than less "You also have good grades, run really fast and most girls want to go out with you, though you're currently single."

Silently, Minato cursed at himself and his situation before asking "Camaraderie, as in we're not really friends for more than being rebellious?" Kushina and Miyuki nodded immediately "Hmm…that's a bit of a problem," _'I knew I annoyed Fugaku back in the old timeline but I was fair, and we did end up being real friends after I was placed under his command and proved the rumors wrong. Hiashi was a real friend of mine as well, but more so Hizashi than Hiashi; it's possible they've misjudged our relationship.'_ "Does Hiashi have any siblings?" he asked, hoping Hizashi had carried over into this world. Then he could talk to the other Hyuuga "And can I have a picture?"

Yoshiko produced a picture for him while Kushina said "He does have one brother, Hizashi, but as Hizashi's not the heir, Hiashi has grown apart from him while he's groomed to take his father's spot as a big movie star. Your dad's a big movie star as well, and also a martial artist, and they've been rivals since they entered the acting industry." _'Great, this opens up so many opportunities for problems; at least this way I can get to know them again better,'_ thought Minato as he accepted the picture, "The Uchihas are the owners of a company but Fugaku's father and your father are rivals as well, mainly because your family and their family are having a richest-man-in-town competition in a way, and your family bought the house they were looking at expanding into."

Kushina didn't sound too impressed with the rivalries, but Minato could somewhat understand. The Hyuugas were probably also rivals with the Uchihas; he'd bet one year of his salary as Hokage on it. It wasn't as if they couldn't be rivals with the way each family acted. Still, he didn't mention his suspicions to his sister or Kushina, because if he did he knew they would wonder how he worked that out.

He focused on the picture; Hiashi was easily noticeable, but his eyes were not like Minato remembered (24); instead they were silvery-gray, but unlike Fugaku, his hair was shiny and styled differently than Fugaku's (it fell long and loose down his back; Fugaku's was tied back in a low ponytail). Fugaku's eyes stared coldly at the camera, while Minato had his arms folded. All were wearing all-black, and from the look in his past self's eyes Minato could tell that _he_ didn't want to be in the photo. Next to Hiashi stood an identical twin of his, with moon-pale irises with a black edge around them and black pupils, looking almost invisibly uncomfortable in navy blue and dark green.

'_So you are alive, old friend,'_ he thought, handing the picture back to Yoshiko "Arigato once more, Haruno-isha," he said, bowing his head respectfully to her before asking "What, exactly, do our parents do for a living Miyuki? Kushina?" he noticed the Uzumaki jump slightly in surprise "If that's not too informal, Uzumaki-san," he quickly corrected.

"Nah, I like Kushina better, thanks," she said, "You've just never paid much attention to me, so I'm a little surprised you remembered my name, Blondie." Minato only smiled at her, while inwardly banging his head against a mental wall; _'baka, baka, baka, how could you forget to explain that? BAKA!' (25)_

"Aniki, it's ok; that's the old you that we're used to, and we'll just have to adjust," Miyuki said with a small, though very happy smile; then she said aloud "Our parents are actors, both of them very famous, and Dad's a martial artist. Mom's the best cook I know and she's also a model, though she refuses to compromise her modesty." _'Ok, that's good, I think…'_ "They're always so busy with shoots that they sometimes forget to pick up Tsukiko from school, so that falls to me, since you're busy after school." Minato hesitated, though he wanted to ask "Don't worry, it's track team practice, not drugs. And you said she shouldn't be there because she's a distraction."

'_Not how a little sister should be treated; that's really bad,'_ he decided, almost immediately "Does our father run a dojo, by any chance?" He was hoping to see his old team again, or perhaps one of them at least. They would be around his sister's age by now "And is Tsukiko friends with kids in her classes, or is she one of the ones without?" He could smell their surprise, as well as see it; the air tasted full of it, and heavy with some tension as well.

"Tsukiko's pretty popular, but she looks up to you a great deal," Miyuki replied, "She's the only one of us you smiled at after entering high school." _'That can't be right. I wouldn't just stop smiling, that's not possible.' _"You and Dad had a really big argument when you started making friends in high school and you stopped talking to each other except when you had to. Mom's done her best, but she can't be around much, and Kenji went his own way after believing you're a traitor to the family. He hates you, Minato," she bit her lip and looked down "He loves me, and he loves Tsukiko, but I don't think he even really loves our parents."

Minato paled slightly; _'Now that's not good, especially because my emotional control is nowhere near what it needs to be right now. Why does he hate me so much?'_ He knew exactly why, though; he had cut ties with basically his whole family except his little sister Tsukiko, and even she was kept at a distance. One of his hands went to his forehead, as he thought about the problem.

'_I have a brother who hates me and a sister who can't trust me; I don't get along with my dad, and my mom is so tired of being a bridge between us that I think she's running herself down. Miyuki-imoutou has had to pick up the slack from our parents and she's too old for her age. Good gods, what __was__ I thinking?'_ Kushina answered his other question "Your father does run a dojo, but it's mainly run by Kenji and my brothers, who are his top students, Kenshin and Minoru. Kenji's somewhat of a friend of mine, and he looks up to my brothers as his _real_ brothers, as he calls them. Minato?"

"I was a big fool, even if _I was a rebellious teenager_," Minato's fists clenched, and for a moment he had to relax the anger at his past self he felt, reminding himself that the teen was dead, and that he had been having problems with maturity. _'He'd have grown out of it by next year, I'm sure of it,'_ "Tell me, does Kenji have a girlfriend? He's around that age, you know," he said, and Miyuki nodded.

"Uh, I don't know; he might, but if he does he hasn't brought her around to meet our family," she replied, making Minato frown slightly "Is something wrong?" he shook his head; _'I would just like to meet these people. I think I'm going to need to request some time off anyway…especially if I don't want to involve my family in my training.'_

"I think that's about as much as I can tell you, aside from how you got in here," Kushina said, "You saved the life of one of your dojo's students from a car." Minato nodded; that made sense, especially since his former injuries seemed to correspond well with that statement; _'a car could have definitely made these injuries,'_ "his name is Obito Uchiha and he really, _really _likes your sister. He's her classmate, you know." Minato prevented a gasp from escaping at the news. _'Obito is eight. Obito is my sister's classmate. OH DEAR GODS-_OBITO_!' _elation, quickly followed by other emotions flooded him for a moment and he stared at the covers, attempting to control them and blocking off his bond with Miyuki long enough to get himself under control.

Obito's dead body flashed before his eyes, and the ambush. Then the grief, for a brief moment, overwhelmed him and he clenched his fists tightly, as he remembered the Kyuubi attack and _dying_ and _Naruto_. Dead bodies flashed before his mind's eye as he closed his eyes, and when he opened them he said "Obito was in my dream," though he hated to lie, he knew he had to "I watched him die."

Miyuki put her arms around his shoulders once again, rising from her seat to give him a hug. Minato put his head on her shoulder and hugged her back, though as tightly as he _dared_ to with his strength. He didn't want to hurt her and put her in the hospital, after all. Eventually, the twins pulled back and Miyuki said "I need to call our parents; I promised them I would tell them when you woke up, and it's been at least an hour, if not an hour and a half since then."

Minato nodded; he was also aware of a pressing need to use the bathroom, so he turned to Yoshiko "May I leave to use the bathroom? I can walk, Haruno-isha," he added, when she opened her mouth to protest. Then she nodded, and disconnected the heart monitor from the wall while he disconnected the IV drip, idly noticing that the sedative was now completely gone and had done nothing. "Haruno-isha, where is the bathroom?" she appeared to be watching him; _'that sedative's not going to kick in,'_ he smiled inwardly as she noticed it.

"I forgot to disconnect the sedative, Namikaze-san; are you feeling anywhere close to tired?" she asked him, concerned, and he shook his head. _'Nope, nowhere close,'_ he thought, "Alright, then will you please try to stand?" Minato shifted the hospital gown and stood up off the left side of the bed. He was about six foot two, according to what his sister had said, and he noticed the nurse looking at his arms, which he hadn't noticed before.

'_Crap,'_ he thought, before thinking _'and this, ladies and gentlemen, is how you discern a werewolf from a human. Our muscles are always very, very well-defined, and I think-yes, they __have__ gotten bigger since the fight,'_ he realized, sweating a little as he noticed Kushina eyeing him up and down, both curious and-_'no, she is not interested; it is innocent curiosity; don't take your thoughts down that road!'_

Yoshiko cleared her throat "If you will follow me, I can show you to the bathroom, Namikaze-san," Minato winced at the form of address she used, and she raised an eyebrow as he walked toward her and out of the room after checking that no other nurses were in the corridor. Yoshiko led him through the halls to the bathroom, which appeared to be sterilized just like the rest of the hospital (actually, it stank worse of antiseptic than the rest did, but he didn't complain). Then she turned to him and said "You don't wish to be addressed as Namikaze-san, do you?"

Minato shook his head "I'm Minato; Namikaze-san makes me feel old," he explained, "and I'm only sixteen." Yoshiko nodded, and he added "I would also like to say that I really don't know when this happened," he gestured to his muscles "but I'm not going to complain, except if, for example, I wind up breaking something."

Yoshiko swallowed, and nodded, believing his lie "I will need to do some tests after you return, to ensure you're in good health. Are your injuries bothering you at all?" he shook his head, and she nodded. "The gods have smiled on you today, and it is a miracle that you are even awake, let alone walking," she told him "I thought you would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of your life." Minato shrugged, and shook his head.

He smiled at her "You can't keep me in a wheelchair, Haruno-isha; I think I would go crazy. Thanks, I can find my way back from here," he bowed to her respectfully and turned to the bathroom as Yoshiko headed back to his hospital room.

Immediately after he finished, he looked into the large mirror over the sinks. No chakra signature was heading his way, nor was there any near here, so he let his Genjutsu fall and took in the changes the twenty-year-long fight against the Nogitsune had made to his body. Certainly, his muscles were more defined, but had his sister, the nurse and Kushina been looking closely, they would have noticed the scars on his neck and arms had his Genjutsu faltered. His muscles fit his frame perfectly; rather than making him huge, they defined themselves around his frame.

His shoulders had broadened completely, and he had no doubt that should he wear a cloak or trench coat, it would look even more impressive than it had when he was previously alive. His clawed fingers shimmered in the light and he extended them fully, looking at the half-inch claws before deciding to test them when he had time later.

'_I run a greater risk of getting caught the longer I stand here,'_ he thought as he looked at his eyes; his pupils were dark slits down the center of blazing cerulean blue and he could see Kurama's mark glowing with a soft silver light when he moved his hospital gown to reveal part of his chest. Half of Shinigami's mark was also visible, so he shifted the gown back to its regular spot, and looked at his ears. They tapered off to a point, not a noticeable point but enough of one that he would have to hide it to appear normal. He could see a few more scars twining around his arms, and there was an especially bad one where the Nogitsune had bitten his arm off a few times (in the same spot) during the fight. There was also one right next to it made by his Hiraishin kunai when he was fifteen and on a mission with Kakashi.

His teeth were as sharp as a predator's, not as sharp as the fox's had been but close, and they hid perfectly in his mouth. His tongue appeared to have changed a little as well, to prevent his teeth from truly harming him, but when he thought about eating some fresh (cooked) meat, hopefully later today, they sharpened more to become gleaming points. Pushing away thoughts of food made them retract again, though he could taste what seemed to be venom in his mouth; his eyes widened as he processed what that meant.

'_I have venom glands. Since when do I create venom?'_ he thought, a little panicked now; he reapplied the Genjutsu and a human stared back at him for a moment, before his eyes penetrated the illusion. _'I can't lie to myself,'_ he thought nostalgically, remembering when he'd done the same to prevent Kushina from learning of his transformations in his previous life, _'but I can lie to others_._'_ Satisfied, the Hokage left the bathroom and headed back to his room.

'_I really want to get out of here; please let these tests be quick,'_ prayed the shinobi as he made his way back to the hospital room. When he walked in he saw his sister on a cell phone, a rather sleek-looking iPhone as his memories allowed him to recognize it, talking to someone on the other end. He walked over to the window, and decided to open it to air out the room; the bathroom had nearly made him sick to his stomach with its strong smell, and he hoped that the pollution wouldn't be as noticeable to his nose if he could smell clean, fresh air.

He opened the window, or made to, but then he heard a female voice he didn't recognize (but had the feeling he should) from the cell phone that wasn't his sister's. _"He's awake? Is he ok? Can I talk to him?"_ He stopped, and turned to look at Miyuki.

"Relax, Kaa-san; he's awake, he's fine, but he has amnesia, as I told you, and he just walked back into the room. I'm not sure if he'll want to," Miyuki looked her brother in the eyes "You want to talk to Kaa-san?" Minato hesitated; _'what do I say? I know she wants to see me, and talk to me, to know that I'm ok, but…I've never had a mother.'_ Still, he nodded after a moment, and Miyuki replied "He wants to talk to you, but he looks nervous. He didn't know who you or Dad was, or what you were like when he woke up, and I've tried, with Kushina's help, to tell him but I'm not sure I did a good job."

"You did a good job imoutou, I promise you," Minato replied "I just don't know what it feels like to have a mother or a father, even an estranged one." He noticed Miyuki's eyes widen and he added "Can I talk to her now?"

"_I'm sure you did fine, Miyuki-chan,"_ said her mother immediately after _"Now can I talk to him? I'm glad to hear you're alright too; Shuichi has called me as well, so when you're finished, why don't you call him? He wants to know if he should take today off of school."_

"Ok Mom, I will. Here's Minato," she handed the phone to the kage, who walked over and took it from her before holding it up to his ear. His nerves were jittery, but he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before even attempting to talk, letting the quiet calm he had learned to reach through meditation steal over him. Miyuki asked "You alright?" and he nodded.

"Hi," he said quietly, and from the other end of the phone he heard his mother gasp quite loudly. "Miyuki, how do I turn down the volume? It's bothering my ears," he asked his sister quietly as he said "Mom?" the word felt alien rolling off his tongue and if not for his practice lying (in the shinobi world, a lie could often mean the difference between life or death) he would never have managed to say it without faltering.

"_You really don't remember me, do you?"_ Her voice was very soft, but over the phone he could hear her as if she was speaking right next to his ear. Miyuki shrugged "I'm sorry, but it's on its lowest setting right now. I can't make it go lower. Is it really?"

"Yes; that's ok, thanks anyway imoutou," he replied, enjoying the light and happy expression he saw in her eyes when he called her that "No," he admitted, sitting down on the chair nearby instead of on his bed "I really don't. I'm sorry," he whispered, and he could hear his mother's sigh on the other end of the phone, both of sadness and relief.

"_At least you're recovered; that's what matters, sochi (26)."_ Minato froze at the word used to describe him as she continued _"I want you to know what it means to have a mother, but I'm not sure I'm the right person for the job,"_ the quiet admission threw him for a loop. _'I'm not the only one who thinks our family has problems, it seems,'_ thought the kage as she continued _"I hope you can forgive me if I can't spend much time with you."_

"It's alright Mom, you and Dad both have jobs," but the kage silently vowed never to do that to his children, as he continued "so, uh, what's our house like? I haven't exactly seen it since I woke up," he admitted, and his mother chuckled from the other end of the phone.

"_I'm so glad you're alright, Minato. Ask Miyuki when she's finished calling-you do know she has a boyfriend, right?" _Minato chuckled and she replied _"I guess that's a yes. When she's done talking to him, how about you ask her, since she has a picture on her phone?"_

"Ok Mom," Minato said, unsure of how he was supposed to act; _'how do I act toward a mother I have never known?'_ he thought, but he continued "Hey, is Dad there?" His mother didn't reply immediately, and he sighed "Mom, can you bring me something to wear? I don't have any clothes here that I know of, and from the way Kushina and Miyuki talk, I got into a car accident so I'm assuming my clothes are all torn up."

"_Sure," _said his mother, sounding surprised _"You want to see your father? He's with me but you two don't exactly see eye-to-eye most of the time."_ Minato exhaled inaudibly _'Looks like I have a bit more to deal with than I thought, then.' "He's worried about you, though; would you like to talk to him?"_ she offered.

"Uh, ok," Minato said, striving not to show how nervous he really was in this situation. _'My father knows nothing about my real self and neither does my mother; none of the usual rules apply, but if I prevent the nerves from showing through it will be obvious something's wrong. Though it would be nice to retreat…'_ He could hear the phone changing hands, and then he said "Uh…hi?"

"_Minato,"_ breathed his father's voice; the deep voice was another he wasn't familiar with, but he reached out a tendril of his chakra, closing his eyes to connect with the calm natural chakra he could feel beneath his body, surging through even the walls of the hospital, to keep his own emotions steady. _"I hear from your mother that you've got amnesia?"_ Minato made a noise of assent, withdrawing from the natural chakra, and listened as his father continued _"How much do you know?"_

"From imoutou-chan, I know we don't get along, or didn't," Minato heard his father's sharp intake of breath, and continued, somewhat sadly "I don't have any knowledge of what it means to really be someone's son. I've got no memory of having parents, but I know I don't want to argue with you, at least not over the phone. I want to know who you are, and Kaa-san," _'gods, I think I am going to have very colorful dreams tonight,'_ thought the werewolf, dreading the coming of night now _'very colorful indeed. I don't deserve this,'_ the full implications of the gift he'd been given hit him then, as he listened to his father.

"_Well, I…I hope we can get along too Minato. I'll be over with your mother in about ten minutes, and she's got clothes for you, since you're not wearing anything but a hospital gown."_ His father sounded somewhat nervous _"You do know I have a lot of work and run a dojo, right?"_

"I have the basics from imoutou," confirmed Minato "but I want to know for myself what kind of people you and Kaa-san are. Are Tsukiko and Kenji going to be ok with this, though? Don't they have school?" he heard his father's sharp gasp and pulled the phone away from his ear, wincing at the noise as it reverberated through his ear. Putting the phone back to his ear, he said "I know Kenji hates me, but I don't know him or Tsukiko. The only reason I know Miyuki is because she's here," _'and that's a record high on the lying meter for me,'_ thought the Hokage with an inwardly sad smile _'I've managed to lie successfully to everyone I care about. For once, I really hate being such a good liar.'_

"_We'll be over soon, then. Your sister's boyfriend is watching them. I'll see you then, Minato,"_ his father sounded nervous, but he hid it better than Minato expected. _"Bye, and remind your sister to call her boyfriend."_ Minato chuckled as his father hung up the phone, and he then handed the phone to Miyuki "He wants you to call Shuichi, and let him know what's going on."

"Sure," Miyuki accepted the phone from him and Kushina opened her own phone, likely to call her family. Minato desperately wanted to open the window, but decided against it because he couldn't stand listening to five different conversations at once. Instead, the former kage sat back, closed his eyes, and began to meditate, breathing in and out silently and steadying himself for what was to come. It was, after all, the first time he'd ever meet his parents.

AND CUT! Finally edited, chapter two is done!

Chapter translations/explanations: (If any of these are known to you, check over the descriptions briefly; I might have changed things that you don't realize)

1-Kekkei Genkai-It translates to Bloodline Limit. Minato used the term bloodline limit in the last chapter but I tend to switch back and forth. Please note that I ONLY TRANSLATE THINGS ONCE. It gets tedious with my intermittent use of Japanese after that.

2-Soul Mate/Soul Bond-Most people go through life without ever learning who their 'soul mate' or the person they're going to be reincarnated alongside for eternity, is. Minato's family has the ability to both see the chains (silver, usually; Namikaze chains are either black and silver or white and gold) connecting _other_ soul mates (not their own) together (when actively looking and not sooner or later) and can bind their soul mate to them using the bonding techniques of the clan. It's part of their past-from-an-alternate-dimension but soul mates usually die within hours of one another even if not bonded. Minato was bonded to Kushina before, and the remains of the bond that still exist tell him she's his soul mate in this world too.

3-Ryuu no Reishin-The bloodline limit of the Uzumaki clan; this allows them to gain certain abilities including transforming partially to fully into dragons. Each has their own inner dragon and each can form a soul-bond that binds other souls, not just soul mates to them. Their summons are also dragons, and each one has a 'familiar' or one they usually summon (like Naruto usually summons Gamakichi or Gamatatsu, but not so much Gamabunta, who was Minato's 'familiar'). Ryuu no Reishin directly translates to Soul-Heart of the Dragon. This also grants the Uzumakis advanced healing capabilities, which leads to many fewer scars from life-threatening injuries, and their chakra is usually extremely dense (Kushina's is almost indigo in color, as she has the strongest form of the bloodline that's been seen in many years; sadly this just about kills your chakra control).

4-Chuunin Level medic-Medics have their own ranking system; this is actually extremely good because medics of Chuunin level can use techniques that are A-rank. So this means she's a qualified healer.

5-Miko-a priestess of a Shinto shrine, but for my purposes, a priestess of one of the gods, minor or major. They have a certain aura around them; it makes them very noticeable.

6-'san'-Suffix in Japanese that can be attached to any name or surname, generally denotes some respect or politeness for the person in question. Used with people, in Minato's case that he doesn't know.

7-chakra exhaustion-When one's body runs dangerously low on chakra, you enter a state of chakra exhaustion. Chakra burnout is what occurs when the same happens with youki, or demonic chakra. Chakra exhaustion is common in young shinobi who overstress their chakra coils and can be deadly in those whose bodies are used to using a lot of chakra (IE: Minato, Naruto, Kushina, etc). If major, it can kill anyone, even a civilian; some shinobi techniques (jutsu; see, two translations in one!) involve draining the opponent's chakra and _most_ shinobi have a set amount of chakra. For the purposes of this story, Minato's chakra reserves are so large even restricted that he's unlikely to suffer chakra exhaustion. Don't worry, it will come up again.

8-Imoutou-Little sister; affectionate term for a little sister.

9-Aniki-An affectionate way to describe an older brother. Sort of a nickname, just like imoutou.

10-'chan'-Suffix in Japanese that can be attached to any name or surname; it generally denotes a close relationship between the person speaking and the one they are describing. When used in conjunction with a girl's name, like 'Kushina-chan', if _not_ related (or considering oneself to be related) to the person being described then it can also be a roundabout way of showing romantic feelings toward that person.

11-Tou-san/chan/sama/tan-a way of saying 'father' or 'dad'. For the purposes of this fic, 'Tou-chan' is Daddy, 'Tou-san' is Dad, and Tou-sama is father. Tou-tan is a little kid's way of saying 'Tou-chan'.

12-Kaa-san-This has the same suffix uses as shown above for 'Tou'. Again, for the purposes of this fic, 'Kaa-chan' is Mommy, 'Kaa-san' is Mom, and 'Kaa-sama' is mother. Usually attaching sama to a name denotes either a great deal of respect _or_ a strained relationship between yourself and the other.

13-Oji plus any suffix-uncle

14-Jinchuuriki-a person who contains a demon, usually one of the bijuu. Translates directly to 'power of human sacrifice'

15-Baka gaki-idiot brat but in this case it's an affectionate nickname from Jiraiya to Minato. Minato knows who she's talking about.

16-oba-aunt

17-sensei-teacher, a suffix used for someone's teacher.

18-bokken-a wooden practice sword used for Japanese sword-fighting (kendo). His mother is a kendo practitioner.

19-isha-a respectful suffix I saw Kenshin Himura use in a translated version of Rurouni Kenshin (manga) to talk to Genzai (the doctor). So I've decided to use it, especially since I've seen RRK fanfics where it's been used. It's meant to shock them and show how polite Minato can be when he wants to be.

20-Arigato-thank you; I just got lazy here.

21-imoutou plus any suffix-little sister; a term of affection Minato has decided to use with Miyuki from now on.

22-Kage Bunshin-Shadow Clone; Naruto's signature technique and for the sake of this universe, invented by Minato. It lets you create a clone (or multiple clones) that have a fraction of the user's chakra and all of their physical strength; it also can't be 'felt' as a clone unless the user isn't experienced. The clone dispels after at least 1 hit (but can be reinforced with chakra; it can also be given Senshi no Reishin chakra to fool opponents or heal itself). As the clone usually runs out when its chakra is gone, the 'soldier pill trick' is when the Kage Bunshin takes a set of soldier pills, as its chakra continually runs out while it's in use (but very little chakra is used for, say, reading). It does not transfer any physical growth back to the wielder.

23-Meioh High-time for random YYH trivia. This is actually the name of the high school Kurama goes to in the series; and yes, the uniforms include the color pink. Can you imagine _Yondaime_ wearing _pink_? I sure can and it looks funny! For those of you that don't know, type into Google Images Shuichi Minamino.

24-Byakugan-While the term hasn't been used directly here, I did refer to that. If you want to know what it is and don't, then please look it up on the wiki as I really can't explain an entire bloodline limit _here_. Also, bloodline limit, the term, refers to a trait that evolved into something more through a family's ancestral history. Human evolution; Minato's is an exception to this rule and so is the Rin'negan (again, look it up if you want to know more).

25-Baka-well, well, well, one of my favorite insults. Here Minato is using it to describe himself; baka translates directly to IDIOT.

Really quick-Hime translates to princess; for this story it's the suffix Minato uses for Kushina's name, or _his_ Kushina's name, but it's a term of affectionate address. It will be revealed later why he does this. It's pronounced HEE-MAY for all of you that don't know.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hi, it's Arashi again. Sorry this update's been in the works for so long; I got really annoyed with this chapter and the following two, considering I had to fix characterization of Kenji (somehow I planned him one way, and wrote him an entirely different way). Don't worry, it's been fixed now! And I'm on summer vacation, so to make up for this, since Chapter 4 is almost through the editing process, I'll update that one as soon as possible!**

**Please review. And I'm sorry but my editing process is a very long one; it doesn't help when I lost inspiration for this since I watched the Avengers. My muse took a bit of a vacation.**

**I'm in California this week! And borrowing my cousins' internet to update this, shameless of me much? I will include a picture for the story when I find a good one. I'm still getting used to this 'image manager' thing. **

**Please, one more thing; if you don't like the direction I'm taking the story in STOP READING IT, instead of flaming it. It's how I deal with stories I don't like. I have many plans for this story and have already planned out through chapter 16…now all I have to do is fill it in.**

**On a completely different note, I will be putting up a pairing poll for Kenji, since he's going to be involved in some of the drama that goes on.**

**Chapter Three: Meeting the Parents and Going Home**

Minato was aware of the nurse before she touched his shoulder, so he opened his eyes just as she touched him. For a moment his eyes were in their natural state, so he closed them immediately after, but knew she had seen something. His Genjutsu (1) fully reactivated, he looked up at her and smiled "Haruno-isha (2), is it time for my tests?" he asked, and she nodded.

'_Great, I can get out of here!'_ thought the fastest man alive, as she said "We'll begin with the typical tests; blood pressure, eyesight, hearing, which means I get to look in your ears, heart rate, and reflexes." _'This will be interesting,'_ thought Minato, smiling as he looked at the brunette.

He stood up and walked back over to the hospital bed, sitting down and doing as she asked during the blood pressure test. Minato felt the band squeeze his arm (though not too tightly); Haruno-isha looked at his results, her face and smell betraying her shock, while Minato paid close attention to the chakra signatures entering and exiting the hospital. "Miyuki, is Shuichi coming with Kenji and Tsukiko, or is it just our parents?" He wanted to meet Shuichi, both to confirm his suspicions and because he wanted to see what kind of person his sister was dating.

"Shuichi insisted, so all of them are coming," admitted Miyuki, and he nodded to her before turning to Yoshiko "Are you alright, Haruno-isha?" he asked; she looked back at him, her face pale, and he pointed to the results "Can I see?" She handed them to him, and he read the numbers, looking at the health chart on the nearby wall. _'Hmm…that's usual,'_ he handed them back to her, and noticed her recovering some of her color.

"It's not normal for a teenager to have that particular blood pressure ratio," Yoshiko said quietly, her words carrying to reach Kushina and Miyuki as well as Minato. Both of them, Minato could sense, would talk about this later behind his back. For now, however, he just nodded, motioning for her to continue "It means you're in perfect health, and you sleep for at least nine hours a night."

Minato swallowed back his surprise; _'I don't need that much sleep; that would make me very sick,'_ he recalled the last time he was sick, and he'd gotten worse because Tsunade insisted he sleep (it had taken 3 weeks for him and Jiraiya to figure out the reason he was so ill). The original sickness had come from an assassin's poisoned blade, and training had actually improved his condition. The memory made him smile "Alright Haruno-isha, but I don't think there's much I can do to change it except by doing something stupid."

Yoshiko grinned at that, and his sister's voice resounded through their bond "I hope you decide not to do anything stupid, aniki. I need a brother like you around, and you sound much more like the Minato I knew when I was little, now."

"Arigato, and I promise I won't, Miyuki. No matter what it looks like, no matter what happens, I'm not going to drink save socially and other drugs are out." Though they wouldn't hurt him, he didn't need to worry about revealing things if he got drunk or high. Especially not the fact that he was a werewolf; that would end up coming out within a few months if he wasn't careful, but he would keep it as long as he could. His chakra brushed against Kushina's and he blinked in surprise; _'the dragon's closer to the surface than it was when I woke up. It still feels dormant, though…'_

Six strong presences entering his immediate sensory range (the hospital) immediately made his fingers twitch, and he hid the lightning bolts that jumped from his right fingertips by clenching his fist for a moment. One was extremely familiar; _'How could I forget the pure youki of the kitsune I befriended? I had my suspicions, but now I __know__ I'm right. Hello again, Kurama;'_ Minato inwardly smiled, as he could befriend the kitsune once again. The next one felt like lightning, but it had darkness surrounding it, darkness mirrored by the other extremely strong presence, which felt of darkness and fire. Both of them belonged to males; one to a demon, a fire demon to be exact, but half-ice demon, and the other had a dormant Senshi no Reishin signature hidden beneath it. _'My brother, Kurama, likely Kurama's friend, my parents and my other sister.'_

"Oh," Miyuki said, swallowing audibly as she paled a little; her heartbeat sped up a little as he listened "It appears Hiei's here as well. You can't miss him; he's short, but not too short, and has black hair with some white in it, and red eyes. He's also carrying a weapon, a katana (3) I think." _'Oh, brilliant…I just hope he isn't arrested by accident.'_ "Try not to get him angry ok aniki? He's a killer."

"I'll do my best, sister; thank you," though Hiei would receive a nasty surprise if he attacked the Hokage, Minato didn't want to cause a confrontation in his hospital room. He received a light shock of youki as a dark presence he recognized as a Jagan (4), likely wielded by Hiei, brushed against his mental shields, attempting to fight its way in. Minato closed his eyes for a moment, as if he was blinking, and repelled the attack with very little effort before asking "Is Hiei a telepath?" Miyuki nodded "Oh," he paused _'time for an Obito moment,'_ "oops."

"Oops?" asked Kushina, a grin appearing on her face, making _him_ want to smile, "He's always teasing me, and he threatened to kill me last time we met, but he won't really do it," she explained "I don't like him much; what'd ya do?" Minato enjoyed the grin on his soul mate's face so much that he grinned right back at her, and Miyuki managed a smile herself.

"I may have rejected contact with him telepathically," he replied, noting the more subtle probe used by the kitsune. Minato retreated from the world of the living for a moment to reinforce and make unbreakable all of his mental shields before returning. Immediately the subtle presence disappeared, having gotten the message; _'thank the gods; I really don't want to get into a telepathic duel right now,'_ he thought in relief.

"Oh," Miyuki shrugged "He'll think you're a threat, so you might want to watch out for future attacks, but he does that to me all the time. Half the time I'm not even aware I'm rejecting the contact," she said, "don't worry about it aniki. He can't get into my mind, but he could get into yours last he checked. Come to think of it, how did you do that?"

"Uhh…" for once he was at a loss to explain without giving himself away. The rest of the presences fluctuated accordingly and he kept a very close eye on them; he recognized his mother's, as she had an earth affinity, and his father's, because he had a lightning affinity, mixed with fire, but his little sister Tsukiko had a light affinity and his brother Kenji had a darkness affinity, though something about him felt wrong. The group moved through the hospital and toward his room, and Miyuki turned her head toward the door expectantly after appearing to hear something he didn't.

'_Here we go,'_ Minato swallowed back most of his emotions, and focused on the positive ones he felt. Happiness, joy and a few others including compassion and love flooded him as the door opened, and he turned to Miyuki "Is your boyfriend telepathic?" he asked, timing it right as the door opened so Miyuki did not answer, but Kurama/Shuichi would.

"I am," replied a deep voice Minato recognized. He turned to face emerald green eyes, with a light dusting of gold within the irises. When their gazes met, he could see the gold hidden behind the green, and the silver behind the red. _'I thought it might be you; now I know my sister is dating someone good, if you're as I remember,'_ he thought to himself, smiling at Kurama, as he would think of him "It is good to see you well again," he said, bowing slightly to Minato. His companion, however, was nowhere near as courteous.

"You," the short, black-haired teen (in appearance) wearing a red bandanna around his forehead, dark clothes, and a katana's sheath-_'wait, the sword's in his hand; __relax,'_ he ordered himself immediately, knowing what was coming. Glaring, maraschino-cherry (5) red eyes met his as the tip of Hiei's katana nearly drew blood at his throat "How have you developed telepathic powers so quickly, _human_?" demanded the demon.

Minato smiled at Hiei, and brought up a finger to the blade, sensing the youki channeled through the metal; _'impressive,'_ he thought, _'it would make me lose an arm and delay my regeneration for a second. He's about as strong as a five-tails, and I can tell that's very good here.' _"I didn't realize I had suddenly 'developed' powers," he replied calmly, "I have lost my memories. I only know who you are because my sister told me."

Miyuki glared at Hiei "Put your sword down. I've checked his mind, he doesn't remember anything, and I mean _anything_ about us. He knows history, science, and school stuff, like he should, but he can't remember who he was or who we are." Kurama frowned slightly "Shuichi, he didn't object to our relationship." Kurama's eyes widened and for a moment, Minato saw gold eyes looking back at him. He turned his gaze to his family as they filed in; Yoshiko didn't appear surprised, nor did Kushina, but his parents did.

His father was about his height, with spiky, short red-gold hair and royal blue eyes, though his skin was the same color as Miyuki's. He was wearing a white martial arts Gi (6) with a black belt and his shoes were traditional wooden _geta _(7). His face wasn't shaped like Minato's, not quite, and his cheekbones weren't as high nor were his eyes like Minato's. Still, the expression of abject shock on his face worried the Hokage, so Minato smiled at his father.

Minato's mother was about the same height as Yoshiko, around five foot five and a half inches, and she was wearing a martial arts Gi as well, though over top of it was a navy blue cooking apron. Her sandals were also the traditional _geta_ and true to Miyuki's words, she was a near-exact copy of Miyuki. Long sun-kissed blond hair was swept up into a high ponytail-braid and ended tied off in white ribbon, while her hazel eyes looked at Minato with concern. Minato also made sure she could see his smile, letting her know he would be ok.

His brother looked exactly like a younger version of his father, but with Minato's eye shape. Kenji Namikaze looked at Hiei and then at Minato, a scowl on his face as he surveyed his smiling brother. Minato internally frowned, wondering exactly what he'd done to gain the 13-year-old's hate, but kept smiling. _'I can fix things,'_ he reminded himself _'I can be a good son, a good brother, and a good father again later, when Naruto reappears. Shinigami did promise.'_

His littlest sister had their father's hair color but their mother's hair style and her eyes seemed almost gold as she looked at him. Of the four of them, she was the only one smiling, and it changed to a happy grin when she saw his grin. A moon-shaped birthmark appeared on her forehead in pure white, shimmering for a moment; the crescent was turned up, almost like a cup, but then it disappeared. Tsukiko clapped her hands "Nii-chan's (8) awake!" she cried, while Hiei held the sword steady.

"Good to see you too Tsuki-chan," he said, seeing the grin widen as she heard him speak "Hiei is a little suspicious at the moment," he gestured to the sword "so don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." Tsukiko just grinned wider, while he felt Kurama brush against his shields again. He looked at them, more specifically at Kurama and Hiei "Whoever is contacting me, please do so aloud." _'This could be fun,'_ he thought, noting the slight annoyance on the kitsune's face (though Kurama was in a human body and form, he knew that the fox was truly a fox at heart). "I don't appreciate it when people try to shuffle through my mind."

Silence reigned in the room, and after a few moments, Kurama broke it "You don't remember anything?" Minato shook his head, once again ignoring the (technically harmless) sword pointed at his throat (and that it was very close to drawing blood). Hiei looked him in the eyes and Minato looked back at him, smiling innocently at them; Kurama stared at him, and Hiei nodded, lowering his katana. Minato found that Hiei's heartbeat was fast and light, while Kurama's was a little faster than an ordinary human's; _'I knew demons' heartbeats were different, but this is interesting.'_

"Very well, I believe you for now human," Hiei said, and Minato nodded respectfully to him. The fire demon could beat him with the amount of power Minato was currently restricted to using, at least unless Minato played his cards right. _'More experience fighting for his life would give him the upper hand, though why do I get the feeling Kurama is the stronger of the two of them?'_

Finally his father spoke "Minato, since you don't remember me, or your mother," he cleared his throat "My name is Kaien Namikaze. Yoshiko Haruno is our friend and the family doctor, though repeatedly you used to ask for your Tsunade-oba to do that job for you instead." Hesitantly, Kaien walked over to the bed and extended his hand.

Minato took his father's hand and let the man pull him to his feet. He met his sister's gaze for an instant; "don't freak out," he warned her, before pulling his father (quite easily) into a hug. It was more of a hug between friends than between a parent and child, but it was a hug nonetheless. The older Namikaze froze, while Minato whispered "It's good to see you, Dad."

Kaien eventually recovered enough of his senses to return the hug, while Minato took in his father's scent, imprinting it into his memories, and pulled back to grin at Minato "I think we might get along better than before," he hesitated, looking like he felt guilty, but Minato decided he'd have to deal with that later. He turned to his mother, and smiled at her; she swallowed, staring at him as he sifted through her chakra signature. Relief, with some guilt and the pain at the loss of the son she'd known for so long was visible on the surface; deep down there was more relief and joy that he was recovering, and would live.

"I'm Yumi, but you know you call me something else," Minato suppressed a bit of laughter and nodded, grasping his mother's hand as she extended it and pulling the shorter woman into a hug. "I'm glad you're better, Minato; it's a miracle you've gotten out of this in such a good condition." The relief was almost palatable and Minato took in his mother's scent as well, making sure he thought of her as an ally like his sister and father. When she pulled back, she whispered "I'm sorry I haven't been there for you before, Minato."

"Mom," he brushed back one of her bangs from her eyes, "I don't know enough to know that you weren't, but even if you weren't, it's ok." Yumi looked at him in surprise and stepped back, while Kenji glared at him. _'Note to Self: look into that odd, 'off' feeling around Kenji,'_ he thought, _'that's not a natural chakra signature for a thirteen-year-old boy.'_

"If you think I'm going to hug you, then you're dead wrong," Kenji said coldly. His mother moved to speak, but Minato caught her eye and shook his head slightly, looking back at Kenji "This is nothing more than ploys for attention; if you want to talk to me then you're outta luck buddy. I can't believe I agreed to this." Minato winced slightly at his tone, but covered it with the smile that shone from his face as he only extended his hand to Kenji, after determining that he would have to earn his brother's respect, and then his acceptance.

"I don't know what I was like before, not enough to know how badly I treated you," he said calmly, despite the way his brother snorted and opened his mouth to mock him; Minato held up one finger "however, I also know you don't like me. That's too bad," he grinned at Kenji "Because you're living with me." Kenji stepped back, losing the smirk on his face in the process as he stumbled a little out of shock, and the 'off' feeling retreated for a moment while he closed his mouth. The presence appeared confused and a little shocked. He turned to Yoshiko "Do I have any more tests I have to do?"

"Hearing, eyesight-most of them," she replied, "You got a little distracted earlier." Minato grinned at her, and she asked "You want to catch up first, or do those first?" _'I really want to get out of here. I can catch up later, when I'm not stuck in the hospital.'_

"I'd like to get out of here; I don't like hospitals much," Yoshiko chuckled and he turned to Tsukiko "You want a hug first or later?" In answer his little sister skipped over to him and jumped; he caught her as she missed his neck and picked her up, settling her in the crook of his left arm as she hugged him with a bright grin on her face. Kenji rolled his eyes, while his parents watched in surprise. Miyuki grinned "Way to go aniki!"

"Thanks, now I really do want to get out of here," he said with a smile. Miyuki turned to their family, including her boyfriend, and friends Hiei and Kushina, who were engaged in a heated glaring contest "Alright Kushina, Hiei, enough," she ordered. Both of them turned to look at her "Minato wants to get out of here. Do you all want to stay here or come and watch the tests, since they have to be in a different room? And Mom, do you have Minato's clothes?"

Yumi nodded "Minato, here are your clothes; you should let Yoshiko check the wounds first, though." Minato pulled on his underwear without blinking, or turning around. Then he asked Miyuki "Since I'm technically clothed, would it be considered odd for me to take off my hospital gown right now?"

"Minato!" Miyuki exclaimed, causing the blond to cover his ears for a moment as the sound reverberated through them. He winced at the sound, waiting for it to finish circulating his ears before uncovering them; wisely, no one spoke while he recovered "if you're not embarrassed, that is," Minato glanced at Kushina, raising an eyebrow; the Uzumaki shrugged.

"I've pantsed you before, Blondie; I don't care," replied Kushina, and Minato inwardly laughed, then glanced at Hiei and Kurama; both of them shook their heads. Taking a deep breath, and holding the Genjutsu over his entire body as best he could, he slipped off the hospital gown and set it on the bed. Immediately he was aware of the effect this had on everyone; even Miyuki's jaw was practically on the ground.

"Y-You know," stuttered Miyuki "I know you're t-toned and all but-I mean," she swallowed "You're my brother, but WOW!" Minato only glanced down at what had been revealed; that the rest of his body was as muscled and toned as the rest of him, which made him inwardly chuckle. Even Kenji, who hated him, had wide eyes, and he could see his father staring at the fact that Minato somehow had a sizable six-pack of abdomen muscles.

He inwardly grinned at them and turned to Yoshiko "May I take the bandages off now, Haruno-isha, or do you need me to lie down and for you to take them off?" the brunette was the second to snap out of her shock, the first being Kurama, and immediately after her so did Hiei. Pastel green eyes met his and she nodded to the bed.

Minato mentally rolled his eyes; _'I'm __fine__, Haruno-isha,'_ he thought, but he complied, lying down on his stomach to let her cut the bandages off with a knife. The knife was dangerously close, though; enough so that he was slightly tense, and very alert, especially as the cool metal touched his back. While he was used to his enhanced senses, it didn't mean that his reflexes were as easily suppressed. Minato gripped both hands together beneath the stretcher he lay on and inwardly hoped how tense he was went unnoticed.

Once again he felt Kurama brush against his mental shields. This time, he replied /Who is this?/ More out of politeness than anything else.

/Well, that answers that question; it's Shuichi Minamino talking, your sister's boyfriend./ Their eyes met for a moment /Are you alright?/ Minato considered the question for a moment before nodding /You appear to be having some difficulty, but with what I do not know./

/I don't like the knife being next to my neck,/ Minato replied, /it makes me tense and if she cuts me then that'll be a problem, possibly leading to a longer stay in the hospital./ He was very careful not to disclose more information; while he felt bad about manipulating someone he hoped he would be friends with later, he knew it was necessary. _'I really don't like that knife, though,'_ he thought as Yoshiko moved the knife away from his body and pulled the bandages with it.

He moved to let the bandages slide off his body, and when they did, they brought only dried blood with them. He heard shocked gasps as everyone looked at his back, but at the moment, Minato didn't care. Kurama contacted him again /How did you learn how to do this?/

/I don't actually know,/ Minato replied, glancing up at the kitsune to see shock on his face /What? Is it my back?/ He twisted, turning so he could see where the wounds had been. No scars remained from the car, but instead, the scar he'd gained from the Nogitsune's youki, the Bijuu ball Barrage scar (as he thought of it) (9) of all things (when it had slammed him into the wall about fifty times, fired over and over), was visible. Minato blinked, and glanced at his chest; no scar. _'Hmm…looks like I can't hide that one. Fine by me.'_ He closed his mind immediately after noticing that, however _'great…question time.'_

"Holy _shit_," breathed Kushina under her breath. "Blondie, where and when did this-right, you don't remember," she snapped her fingers, sounding disappointed. Minato sat up instead of lying face-down on the covers, meeting shocked and concerned gazes. _'I'm lucky they're here…'_

"I don't remember when this happened," he lied outright, keeping his body and chakra from betraying him to the two demons in the room, as he continued "However, since it appears to be the scar from getting" he was cut off immediately by Miyuki, who shook her head.

"Aniki, that is no car accident scar," she pointed out "That looks like it was made from something much stronger and traveling much faster than a car. But you don't remember," she shook her head, "You're sure?" he nodded, deciding against getting noticed through the link for his lie. He was slightly relieved when Miyuki turned to them and nodded "He doesn't remember it. I checked, and it's like his memory is a huge blank."

Minato looked at them, pretending to be confused while inwardly thankful his scheme had worked. He'd leave the Bijuu Ball Barrage scar visible because now his family knew about it. Kurama frowned at him, and Minato knew he wasn't going to fool Kurama for long without practice. Even Kenji, it seemed, was wide-eyed; he made a note to talk to the thirteen year old at some point during the day, or perhaps later. He was grateful it was still morning, around nine o'clock am now, because he would have most of the day left when he got out of here.

Tsukiko asked innocently "Nii-chan, do you have more tests to do?" he nodded, "ok, so can we do them?" Minato felt grateful toward his sister as Yoshiko nodded, and led him (and his family) out of the room, his parents watching in stunned silence as he was led to a vision testing room. "What's this one?"

"This is the vision test; we have to see if your nii-chan can still see as well as he did before. He had 20/20 vision last time he was in here," explained Yoshiko "Which is perfect. Minato, if you would?" she pointed to the chair, and Minato sat down, though warily; _'if one of these things takes an eye out…'_ he thought, though he knew what it did. He couldn't suppress his wariness, though, and he knew it was obvious for those who looked. He could feel Hiei and Kurama studying him, watching him very closely in spite of how they acted.

'_Unfortunately, I'm too well-trained to be a simple civilian, even if I'm trying to act like one,'_ he thought; his footfalls had been completely silent while walking, while everyone else (even Kurama and Hiei) had made noise in coming here. It was a habit, and one he hopefully would not have to break. If someone tried to follow his footprints, they wouldn't be there, but the others' footprints would be.

When asked to read the smallest print he could, and then the biggest, Minato answered perfectly. His Genjutsu was only an illusion and so his improved senses (while his eyes were bothered by how bright the machine was, he didn't complain aloud) weren't even really put to the test. He noticed his mother's heart rate speed up a little as he dampened his senses somewhat; he would train with them at home, where it would be less likely to be noisy. When Yoshiko looked into his ears, Minato tried very hard to remain incredibly still, falling into his usual meditative calm, though without deactivating his Genjutsu.

Yoshiko then pulled out her stethoscope and measured his heartbeat, which was the same rate as an ordinary human's. She could hear him breathing in and out, obviously, but he didn't expect for his heartbeat to fluctuate for a moment and skip three beats while she listened. Her eyes widened, but as it had no apparent effect on him, she drew back, and nodded.

"So?" Minato asked, looking at her expectantly; while _he_ knew he was in perfect health, he knew his family would want to know. "Can I get down now?" asked Minato, as Yoshiko was staring at him; he smiled "Haruno-isha, I feel like I could run up a mountain right now. May I get down now please?" he asked, and she nodded, so he got up off the bed.

"Minato, I'm not certain how to say this," he noticed surprise and shock emanating from his family; even Hiei seemed slightly surprised, while Kurama's presence fluctuated wildly for a moment; _'hmm…'_ "Your senses have, if I'm right, _improved_ since you were last in here. Your vision is 100/100, if that's possible," Minato stared at her, surprised; _'I haven't had it measured since I was three!'_ "And your ears are shaped differently on the inside than a regular human's ears. I'm surprised you're not flinching right now."

"I guess I'm used to it," Minato replied, shrugging "It was really bright in the hospital room, before I got used to it, and I didn't like the phone much because it hurt my ears," he admitted, "but other than that, I've got no problems." Kenji stared at him for a moment longer before glaring, the dark presence surrounding the younger Namikaze obviously regarding him as a threat, while his parents appeared shocked and a little scared at the news "I'm still me, though, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are," Kushina stepped in to say, and Minato was relieved to hear it. "You're still the big blond baka I'm getting to know," she smacked him over the head, and Minato bit his lip to prevent a yelp from escaping. That would have given him away immediately "Now, why don't you get up and do the reflex test?" Minato hesitated, looking at Yoshiko.

"Can you hit my leg from the side? I'm not sure how strong I am and I don't want to hurt you by accident," Minato requested, and Yoshiko nodded. He got up and sat on the table, focusing on slowing down as much as he could. Bringing his full willpower down on his reflexes, he watched, time appearing to slow down around him (to his eyes) as the mallet slowly descended toward his knee. He responded on the fast end of the human reaction time, and made sure to slow his body so much that it appeared to him that he was moving through solid stone (figuratively).

'_The sad part is,'_ he thought, as he refocused on the outside world, _'that was child's play. Hiei and Kurama both know it, too,'_ Kurama idly picked up a mallet, a different one that looked heavier, and faster than a human eye could see he chucked it at Minato. _'I could pluck it out of the air or I could dodge, and have the entire room filled with-screw it I'm catching this thing.'_

Minato reached up and without really thinking, plucked the mallet out of the air with his left hand. The kitsune raised an eyebrow at him and he brought the mallet down to rest by his side on the bed; all the while, his family (aside from Miyuki) appeared not to have noticed anything. "Minato…" his twin's voice said firmly "What the hell was that?"

"It could have hit something behind me, something expensive," he defended "and besides, it would have hurt if it had hit me. I just reacted," he replied, making Miyuki also raise an eyebrow. "I'm not kidding, imoutou, else you would have noticed," he pointed out aloud, holding up the mallet "Nice throw, Shuichi." He tossed it back to the kitsune at a normal human's speed, and watched the redhead easily pluck it out of the air.

Yoshiko appeared not to understand what had just occurred, but Kenji did. Minato caught the flash of shock in his eyes as he looked at the former kage, and pretended to ignore the shock swirling around his brother's dark chakra signature. Instead, he turned to Yoshiko "So, results?"

Yoshiko swallowed "I think you're even faster than you were when you came in here, if that's possible," Minato stared at her "You and your sister had your annual checkup a few days before your accident. You're at least twice as fast now," she explained, and Minato nodded. "I'd say this is a miracle, a gift from the gods," she said, studying him "If I were you, I'd make the most of it."

'_Believe me, I intend to,'_ thought Minato, smiling at the thought of the particular gods responsible "I believe it is as well," he replied, getting off the bench "Is there anything else you need from me or can I put my clothes on and sign out now?" he asked, and Yoshiko shook her head. _'Great, finally I can get out of this place.'_

"Go ahead," she said, and he pulled on the clothes his mother tossed him, noting that they still fit (and were perhaps a little big in the waist, on the shorts) and what they looked like. Black shorts and a light blue t-shirt with a white lightning bolt design cutting from the upper left to the lower right of both the front and back. _'The shirt's nice, but I wish it had some yellow,'_ he thought as he brushed himself off and picked up the sandals his sister had put on the floor.

They were black, like his shinobi (10) sandals, but not made for combat; they were civilian shoes. Still, he put them on. He needed shoes to get out of here without stepping on glass or something similarly irritating that would put him back in here. Emotions were still held by his iron grip, and he smiled at his family, "If you're ready?" he asked, snapping the rest of them out of their shock.

Kaien nodded and motioned for them to leave; his parents looked unsure about how to treat him, but Minato would show them soon enough. He followed them out, the last behind Hiei and Kurama, both of whom were regarding him suspiciously. Yoshiko frowned slightly as she fell into step next to him; he leaned down to whisper "Please keep the medical results a secret, Haruno-isha." She looked up at him in surprise "I don't want to be singled out and I don't think my family does either. At least not any more than we already are," he explained, and she nodded.

"I'll change it; you need to be careful, because you're still in need of some recovery time. You still have a week excused off from school to get used to the changes," the nurse replied, continuing to walk next to him in silence. Then she said, too quietly for Hiei or Kurama to hear "It will be quite some time before they are used to you. It's the most painful for an amnesiac's family to know their relation is there, but not there." Minato swallowed, and nodded; he remembered when Inoichi had gotten amnesia. Though it was temporary, it had nearly destroyed Hannah, his fiancée and later wife. Thinking of them brought to mind the Kyuubi attack; Minato's emotions caused his chakra to come to the surface, and soon he was outlined in a soft, but intense blue glow. Quickly he brought his power under control, but not before it was noticed by Hiei, Kurama _and_ Miyuki. All three of them glanced back at him, one worriedly and two suspiciously, and he gave them a reassuring smile.

"I understand, Haruno-isha, but I can also say that my amnesia is not temporary. Of this I am absolutely certain," he replied, just barely loud enough for her to hear. She smiled at him sadly and he continued with "I wish it was, but it won't be," he knew it, and so did she, but he said it aloud to confirm it. Yoshiko nodded to him.

"I'm certain of it; you died on the operating table, you know," she whispered back to him, knowing he could hear her. Kushina turned back and waved for the two of them to hurry up, and Minato sped up a little, Yoshiko keeping pace with him "My daughter spends a lot of time with your sister, and both of them were crying when I told them you might not make it. I know your vitals didn't look good last night, Minato." Minato paled slightly, and Yoshiko smiled "I'm a priestess of Inari, Minato. I recognized her mark on you; I know she has taken you under her service," she bowed to him at the doors to the hospital "You can trust me to keep your secret."

"Arigato, Haruno-dono (11)," he said, bowing to her from the waist, and adding "If Inari-san doesn't tell you more, please don't poke around. I have a job I have to do, and a reward I've earned that I need to enjoy. Ja ne (12), Haruno-dono," he turned and headed out of the hospital, speeding up a little to catch up with Kushina, Miyuki, Kurama, Hiei, Kaien, Yumi, Kenji and Tsukiko.

He smiled at them as he approached, while all of them appeared to be in a bit of a predicament. "What's the matter, imoutou? Did Tou-san forget his car keys or something?" he asked from behind his sister, and Miyuki, noticing where he was, whirled and jumped about a foot in the air "Jeez, don't do that Minato! That's not the problem; the problem is that Mom and Dad only have one seat in their car, and so does Shuichi. And there are three of us, so unless we want to break the rules…" she trailed off "Our house is quite a ways away, too."

Minato frowned as he looked at the two cars "How did you get here when you first came?" he asked, turning to his mother; _'this is a bit of a problem…though they probably didn't expect to be taking me home. Maybe I can borrow someone's motorbike for the day, or something, if it really gets bad.'_

"_**BAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!"**_ Shinigami's laughter entered his hearing and Minato whirled, reaching for kunai that weren't there as the god appeared and time froze for a moment _**"That's funny! I'll help; don't look at me like that. You won't get treats from me all the time, though,"**_ he warned Minato _**"I just thought you should know a few things. Time will freeze for as long as I am here, unless I will it not to."**_

"Don't sneak up on me ji-san (13); next time, it won't be so nice," he warned, as the god took the form of a man who looked to be in his early forties. His hair was gray, though it was spiky (not styled like his or Jiraiya's, but short like the few pictures he had of his real grandfather) with a few blond streaks in it. "Are you related to me on my dad's side or my mom's?" he asked, curious. The god's eyes had become a light hazel-brown and were shaped like Minato's, but their pupils were replaced by pulsing slits of dark flame.

"Your mother's," the god's voice sounded like that of a middle-aged man as well, and when he blinked, the dark flames went away for a moment. "In this world, she is like my daughter; mostly because I don't care about how far down the line she is if it makes you my literal grandson, but also because her parents are dead." Minato nodded, and the god motioned to the air "Go ahead and take a seat, I know you can fly because I caught you doing it in there." Minato warily sat down in midair; _'what does he have planned now, and why can't I feel my sister?'_

"So what is it you need to tell me that is so important, if I may ask?" Minato asked dryly, and the god laughed; it sounded genuine, if a little crazy. Minato rolled his eyes "Are you going to talk or laugh at my situation?"

"I'm going to talk," the god replied, the smell of death wafting toward Minato for a moment; however, it was extremely faint, and the godly aura surrounding him had disappeared completely. If not for the time breach around them and the way he had appeared, Minato would not have known the man was the Death God until he got within five feet of him. "There are a few things you need to know. First, good job placing the seal on your sister; that will never be noticed, but it has a 20% chance of igniting her Senshi no Reishin abilities if you use it, mainly because your signature and hers will be connected, and your Senshi no Reishin is far wilder than hers ever will be," Minato nodded "Second, you have a Reaper form that you can alter depending on how terrifying you want to appear. You also have every affinity known and some that aren't known; don't worry, you have plenty of time to explore these abilities, and I would encourage that. All of your power _will_ be passed down through your family, though none other than Naruto," Minato winced at the mention of his son, "will be an avatar of three gods; Kami (14), myself, and Inari."

'_Naruto is the Destined Child,'_ Minato concluded, feeling even worse _'I'm sorry, musuko (15).'_ "Naruto is the Destined Child, isn't he?" he asked quietly, and Shinigami nodded. "Damn it," he swore, a single tear dripping from his eye "he's going to die completing his destiny if I'm not there!"

"Not in this world, he isn't," the Death God pointed out "And not in worlds where he has differing powers, but I'll get to that later. Your third point brings me to how you're getting home. You, as my avatar and grandson, must automatically have a cool ride," Minato sweat-dropped;_ 'he's having a good time, isn't he?'_ "You needn't worry about the twin bond, though. I've slowed down time, and the same will occur when you use the time breach function of the Hiraishin (16)." Minato nodded, and Shinigami continued "This is how you're getting home. And you also have a license that lets you drive any kind of motorized vehicle, including planes."

"Wait, I don't know how to fly a plane," protested Minato, and Shinigami waved his hand. The kage's head began to hurt as he was given information, once again, that nearly overloaded his organizing capacity for a few moments. Closing his eyes, he took a few deep breaths and sorted the information, gaining the mental results of learning how to fly a plane, glider, and many other vehicles including how to pilot an assault tank. "When will I need to know how to pilot an assault tank or a submarine?" Minato asked, feeling a rather large sweat-drop appearing on the back of his head. The god shrugged.

"It never hurts to be prepared for the worst, and automated mecha (17) already exist," he added "so that training's been included as well." Minato felt a little dizzy at the thought of piloting his own mecha, and pushed past it; _'he's doing this to amuse himself and help both of us,'_ he thought, _'but it's useful for me, so I'll just have to live with it.'_ "I don't want you winding up in a situation in which you need the information and don't have it," he continued, waving his hand again. Out of dark flames appeared a motorbike that had Minato staring.

It was sleek and streamlined, with what looked like both a foot brake and handle brakes, a built in compartment underneath the seat that he would have to explore using more later, a helmet (though he knew he really didn't need it), and the god said smugly "This is your ride. You can already drive one, and you won't need any of that leather armor or other stuff they make you wear," he handed Minato his license "Keep that in one of those seals on your arms. Those carried over as well, so you have"

"I have enough shinobi and civilian stuff to use on an army," Minato said, feeling another massive sweat-drop appear; _'Why damn it? How am I going to explain this to my family?'_ "Did you tell my family?" Shinigami waved his hand again, and Minato asked "And can it have lightning bolts, like I'm thinking of? Just read my mind," he added, imagining the bike how he wanted it to be.

"Done and done," the god said, "This is one of the bonuses of being my avatar; you're also the only one of your world who can drive it without it ejecting them to five feet off the ground. Though, you can key in other people, by stating that you trust them to the bike, and asking it to let them ride. Finally, the full moon is in two days, and the bike does not pollute or cause cancer with the chemicals surrounding it. You also know how to repair it," Minato nodded; _'this is going to be very, very useful,'_ now, all he needed to do was get out of the time breach.

The god winked at him, waved his hand once more, and time sped up. The forty-year-old man waved to him and walked away, while Minato muttered "Damn it," and turned to his sister, "So whose bike is that? And what do the initials MHN mean?" he asked, while Miyuki grinned at him.

"Well, if you can remember how, that's your bike and you're the only one that can drive it. There's no room in the cars, so…" she trailed off "Can you remember?" Minato closed his eyes, and faked a look of surprise as he brought the recently acquired memories to the front of his mind. He replied through the link "I remember how to drive it. I also remember that I didn't like the helmet," _'that sounds convincing enough,'_ he thought, _'though if both Inari and Shinigami are going to give me more gifts I'd like to have advance warning.'_ He saw the forty-year-old man from a distance, leaning against a sleek black car and smirking at him _'He did this part, though, just for his own amusement,'_ thought the kage as he walked over to the bike.

Before one of them could protest, he held up a hand "I remember how to drive it, so I'll just follow you home," Kurama nodded and got into the family car, Miyuki following to ride shotgun, while Hiei switched to riding in Minato's parents' car, glaring at him the whole time. Minato frowned a little as his father stopped, and turned to him; _'alright, what did I do now?'_

"You got injured one day doing the Death Wobble, as you called it, on that bike," warned Kaien "Just try and keep it from doing that again, ok?" Minato nodded as a gust of warm, morning spring air blew his spikes into his eyes and his father's worried scent to his nose. He shook his head slightly as his father turned back around, getting his bangs out of his eyes, and removed the helmet from the seat of the bike, putting it on and fastening the strap around his chin.

'_I think this is going to be fun,'_ he thought; since according to his memories it was, he decided to enjoy the ride. Pulling on gloves (with yellow tri-pronged kunai on the backs with white lightning surrounding them), he smiled as he put the kickstand up. Immediately, years' worth of gifted experience surged forward and Minato kick-started the bike, revving the engine as he waited for his parents to pull out of the parking lot. Immediately after the red van (it was his mother's) pulled out, behind the white Corvette his parents drove to work (with Hiei in the back seat), he pulled the bike out of its spot and slowly drove onto the street.

The feeling of the wind rushing through and past his body wasn't one he'd experienced since he was younger, and was able to jump from the Hokage Monument or fall from great heights without people getting nervous about him (so it had truly been around twenty-five years, maybe twenty-six). It brought on an adrenaline rush, similar to the kind he got while in the shunpo (18), something he had developed in his twenty years in the Shinigami's stomach. Once they turned onto a faster road, Minato began to laugh, feeling the wind tugging at the ends of his spiky hair. It reminded him of flight.

'_Thanks for the ride, Shinigami-ji-san,'_ he thought, taking a right and enjoying the feel of the bike as he did so. "Minato, you ok? You got dangerously close to the ground just then!"

"I'm fine imoutou, just enjoying the ride," he replied, pulling up alongside the van and turning his head to wink at her through the visor. Her mouth fell open as she looked at him, and he prompted "Show me the way, and I will follow you."

He couldn't hear her speaking to Kurama, but he did see the kitsune glance at him, out of the corner of his eye, and he slid back a little, and then a great deal when they came to a sharp turn. _'And here we go again,'_ thought the kage-turned-teenager, enjoying the feel of adrenaline once again as he got dangerously close to the ground to take the turn at such a high speed.

'_I won't die, so I might as well enjoy this while I can,'_ he thought, righting himself just in time to realize they were headed out of town, past the suburbs to what looked like an area with a _lot_ of grass and some forests as well. Minato focused on where they were going; it didn't look like they were going to stop anytime soon and in fact the Corvette _sped up_. He sped up to match, watching the speedometer as it increased from 25mph to 45 and then 50mph.

Finally, as they crested a ridge, and Minato applied his brakes loosely, he noticed a large mansion coming into view. Behind it was a mountainous area and a wooded area. He began slowing down when he saw the Corvette slowing down, and eventually they took a turn into the driveway of the house, as did the red van. Minato slowed down even more as he pulled up next to the van on the left, taking up only _some_ of the parking space needed for a whole other car before stopping completely and turning off the engine; _'when Shinigami and Inari said my new house was big, they weren't kidding. This is HUGE! How did we EVER afford this?' _wondered Minato as he got off the bike, put down the kickstand, put his helmet back, closed the compartment and locked the whole bike with a touch of his finger to the yellow button, which then disappeared.

The rest of the family filed out of the cars one by one and Kurama winked at him "Have a good ride?" there was an underlying tone of wariness, something Minato hid a wince at; _'I see he still doesn't trust me. Well, it's no more than I deserve, especially since I've shown off something suspicious today that he never saw in me before.'_ Instead of replying verbally he just smiled at Kurama and nodded, walking up to the house door.

As he crossed the threshold, immediately he noticed a change in the environment. The house was warm, or at least the front room was, but there was a foreboding feeling near where he needed to go. The forest held a feeling of gloom, and on impulse, he decided to ask Miyuki what the deal was with their new house. "Miyuki, was there anything odd about this house when we bought it?" he asked, "Maybe a ghost story or something similar?"

"You know, Shuichi asked me the same thing," replied Miyuki silently as he took his shoes off and walked into the living room. That room held no heaviness, but from upstairs he could feel another presence, something akin to encroaching blackness…very similar to his brother's. "We moved here a year ago," he nodded "The old owner really wanted to move, but they wouldn't say why. Those past few weeks while you weren't here, though, it's been feeling darker and darker every day."

'_So whatever this is, I make headway against it,'_ he thought, touching his brother's chakra signature and realizing that the Senshi no Reishin within it was locked so deep (in a very cold place, oddly enough) now that it would never emerge without his help. _'Shit,'_ he thought, _'looks like the Hokage's got a job once more. Great, I bet Shuichi can feel that too, though not as deeply as I can.'_

He felt a light mental tap from Kurama/Shuichi, and replied /Yes?/ while keeping the connection as low-key as he could, so the dark presence in the house did not sense it. _'This place doesn't smell right,'_ he concluded, sniffing the air twice _'Definitely not a darkness affinity either. It's worse; it smells rancid, like Orochi-teme (19) did.'_

/You feel it too,/ murmured the kitsune /This dark presence. It is retreating as you stand here, to the upstairs, and Kenji is glaring more and more as it's forced to retreat. This is not good./

/No, it isn't; do you think you can stand working with me on this?/ Minato asked, and then he asked Miyuki "Do you think it might be a demon? Shuichi's contacted me, so can you open a three-way link?" Miyuki gave him a slight nod, just as Kurama did, and he turned to face both of them, out loud asking "So, can you two maybe show me around? Or one of you? I've no idea what the place looks like, but it looks like a nice house," he added, seeing his mother's expression. His stomach chose that moment to rumble quite loudly, and Hiei snorted.

"Can't even keep yourself fed," muttered the fire demon before entering into their mental chat /You've established a link, Fox. What's going on and why is the human involved? Your mate I can understand/

/HIEI, SHUT UP,/ came Kurama's very loud and very embarrassed mental voice. Minato winced slightly at the raised voice but then his mother smiled "Of course; you can also talk with Shuichi and Hiei, if you like. I know your sister's told you about them," she hugged him briefly "Don't get into any trouble, ok sochi?"

"Ok Mom, I'll do my best," Minato said; _'looks like I can't make explicit promises to her. Good, that will keep me on my toes; if I say anything out of line, the presence might notice. I'll-whoops,'_ he thought as Kurama continued /There is something wrong, and all four of us feel it, am I correct?/

Kenji walked upstairs with a muttered curse under his breath that Minato caught. It wasn't in any language he should have known, but it was the same as 'you're stupider than a bunch of assholes drunk off their asses and blind as bats,' though it was in Kenji's voice. A chill crept down the kage's spine as he glanced at his parents; his father smiled encouragingly at him; Kushina was twitching nearby, looking as if she was hiding a look of disgust "Go on up, you five. I can see Minato wants to talk to you."

"Alright, we'll see you when it's time for breakfast," chorused Minato and Miyuki. With that, the group of five teenagers and demons turned to the staircase on the left and began to climb.

AND CUT!

Chapter Dictionary (REMEMBER, I ONLY TRANSLATE THESE THINGS ONCE):

1-Genjutsu-A class of shinobi abilities that are meant to confuse the senses into perceiving what isn't there. Basically, they're illusions; some of them are multi-layered, and all of them are visibly changing, but Minato uses a more advanced version of one to hide most of his not-quite-human traits. Illusions can do almost anything; the Sharingan's illusions are far more powerful, however, and require another bloodline limit to break. The Sharingan is the bloodline limit of the Uchiha clan.

2-Isha-A suffix that for this fic, as I have seen it used by Kenshin Himura (Rurouni Kenshin), is used to refer to a doctor respectfully. Calling the doctor by their last name is more respectful as well, sort of like 'Doctor White' is to us.

3-katana-it's a traditional Japanese sword; one side is blunt, and the other is very sharp. It also has a sharp point and was used traditionally by samurai.

4-Jagan-A third eye implanted in Hiei's forehead. It grants him greater telepathic abilities than the ones displayed by his sister, which are basic. He can also see truth using the eye, so Minato will have to be careful.

5-Maraschino Cherry-This is a special kind of very sweet cherry (with a bright red color) that often comes atop an ice cream sundae.

6-Gi-A martial arts outfit; think what people wear for karate (for all of you that don't know what this is)

7-geta-traditional Japanese wooden sandals; they are sometimes plated with metal on the bottom and are usually similar to flip-flops in the way they are strapped to your feet.

8-Nii (any suffix)-Unless introduced as someone's last name, denotes an 'elder-brother' relationship between the speaker and the person being spoken about/to. Nii-chan denotes a closer relationship than nii-sama, for my purposes.

9-Bijuu Ball-Basically a gigantic form of the Rasengan which causes more damage and is more powerful; Rasengan was based off of it. Search the Naruto wiki for a better explanation but Minato was hit over 50 times in the back by Kyuubi using it, so it left a rather sizable scar. The scar will be shown/described later but it covers his whole back and parts of the back of his upper arms as well.

10-Shinobi-Ninja

11-dono-A suffix used to denote respect, often for a woman in place of 'sama', but can also be used for a man.

12-Ja ne-Basically means goodbye, or bye.

13-Ji-(any suffix)-grandpa, grandfather, etc. See chapter 1 for why he's calling the Shinigami this.

14-Kami-God, the almighty, etc. The God everyone prays to, sworn by as in 'Oh God', etc.

15-Musuko-a form of 'son', which will be used intermittently with 'sochi' which also means son. I'm not sure which is more formal.

16-Hiraishin-For anyone who didn't read it in chapter 1, Flying Thunder God; the time-breach allows Minato to temporarily stop time, but he has a time limit on the ability. His time limit is maximum 10 minutes without his body starting to get eaten away by the 'breach', which lasts for 20 minutes before he must release it or risk having part of his soul disappear. However, as he can move so fast, this is not usually a problem. The time-breach function must be anchored to him and while he can bring others with him into it, the more there are the more dangerous it is. While in the time-breach, the laws of time and space do not apply. Gravity sometimes does not depending on how fast he's moving. His opponents cannot break the 'breach' because it is a self-affecting ability; it's in this way that he was able to complete the Shiki Fuujin and take down Tobi _and_ Kyuubi, not just the fox.

17-Mecha-Search Knightmares-Code Geass in Google Images for an idea of what this is. I can't explain it any better than that; sorry!

18-Shunpo-Flash Step; will be used later

19-Orochi-teme-Minato's nickname for Orochimaru; his other one is 'Oro-chan' and both are intended to insult. Teme means bastard in direct translation, and when you consider what Orochimaru did…it fits.


End file.
